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“DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!” 


THE MACMIEEAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK - BOSTON - CHICAGO 
ATLANTA - SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMIEEAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON - BOMBAY - CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMIEEAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd 

TORONTO 










“Perry Stood Erect With His Blue Banner 
Around Him” 


“DON’T GIVE UP THE 


SHIP!” 


By 

CHARLES S. WOOD 


Illustrated by 
FRANK T. MERRILL 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1912 


All rights reserved 



Copyright, 1912, 

By THE MACMIEEAN COMPANY, 

Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1912. 


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Q Cl, A 3 2 0 3 0 8 

Vt-6 , I 


Francis Bail Pearson this book is 
dedicated in grateful appreciation 
of his interest and assistance in the 
author’s work for young people. 














CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

1. The Search oh the Jennie B 1 

2 . William Macy Surrenders Himself 13 

3. The Man From the Chesapeake 24 

4. The Leopard and the Chesapeake 36 

5. A Tempting Proposition 49 

6. Harry Stands by the Ship 60 

7. Robbed by Napoleon 71 

8. Enlistment 85 

9. Watching for Hostile Cruisers 98 

10. An Unexpected Meeting 110 

11. The Long Overland Journey 122 

12. Building the Lake Erie Fleet 133 

13. Luff, Dolly, Luff! 145 

14. Harry Makes New Friends 158 

15. The Launching 172 

16. Give Me Men! 184 

17. Crossing the Bar 197 

18. How the Niagara Was Manned 207 

19. A Storm on the Lake 219 

20. Watching Barclay 228 

21. The Battle Flag is Hoisted 240 

22. The Lawrence Shattered 253 

23. Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara 267 

24. Harry Macy’s Promotion 279 

25. Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 292 

26. I Was There 304 

27. Notes and Historical Gleanings 311 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


“Perry Stood Erect With His Blue Banner Around 


Him.” Frontispiece. '• 

“Captain Starbuck in a Trembling Voice Thanked 

Mr. Macy” 21 y 

“Patterson Shook the Ashes From His Pipe and 

Went on With His Story” 36 / 

“You Look Like a Seaman” 88/ 

“Luee, Dolly, Luff!” 149 ^ 

“You Must Be Brave, Ruth” 195^ 

“The Hoisting of This Flag Will be the Signal 

For Going Into Action” 212 / 

“The Last Shot on the Lawrence” 267 v 


“DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!” 












DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP 

CHAPTER I. 


The Search on the Jennie B. 

I T was a beautiful morning in July, 1807, near 
the end of the month. A stiff breeze was blow- 
ing off the sound, and the air was cool and salty, 
and down by Brant Point the tide was racing swiftly 
into Nantucket harbor. Along the shore of the outer 
bay, instead of the usual gentle lapping of the waves 
on the beach, a surf was pounding, and the water was 
slimy with seaweed which had been torn from its 
bed, and was now being tossed in long windrows 
high up on the beach. From the south shore three 
miles away came the heavy roar of the surf, as the 
great wall of water fell incessantly on the beach. 

These were the only signs here of the great gale, 
which had swept the coast of New England. But its 
destructive force was hurled in vain along a coast, 
where but little shipping was afloat. A few years 
before wrecks of coasters and foreign ships would 
have been strewn along the sea front from Eastport 
to New York. Now the vessels were rotting idly at 
the piers in safe harbors, and the ocean was nearly as 
bare of sails as it was when Columbus ventured his 
little fleet on the virgin waters of the Western World. 


2 


Don't Give Up the Ship 


Why and how this great shipping business had been 
destroyed will be seen as this little story unfolds. 

Harry Macy was sitting on the high steps in front 
of a large house which faced the bay. It was such 
a house as may be seen there today, a house built 
of the old oaks which once grew upon the island, and 
its sides were covered with weather-stained shingles. 
A great square chimney rose above the roof in the 
center, and along the ridge extended a wide railed 
platform, called “the walk." At one end was a ten 
foot pole with a black weather-vane, shaped like a 
whale, which pointed over the outer bay to the north. 

Harry was a sturdy boy, twelve years old, bright 
in mind and strong of body, just such a boy as you 
would like for a chum, if you were spending a summer 
by the sea. He could do with ease many of the things, 
which boys, who live away from the water, long to 
do. He could pull an oar in a heavy fishing dory, or 
sail a cat-boat, even when the sea was high, and the 
boat slipped along through the white caps, 

“With a wet sheet and a flowing sea, 

And a wind that followed after." 

Harry could swim across the harbor and back again, 
and he knew how to throw and haul his line through 
the breakers to catch blue fish or cod. He had even 
caught a shark, a man-eater or blue dog, and carried 
some of its teeth in his pocket for good luck. 

Of course, being a Nantucket boy, his great ambi- 


The Search on the Jennie B. 


3 


tion was to go on a whaling voyage. But no whalers 
went out any more, and there were no ships in the 
harbor, and even the schooners and sloops in the 
coasting trade had all gone to safer harbors, or had 
been captured, or destroyed. It was of this Harry was 
thinking this morning, instead of running about with 
his companions in his usual lively way. Behind him 
he could hear his mother having a morning chat with 
her neighbor, Mrs. Gardner, and in the yard he saw 
his brothers and sisters in their old clothes and 
barefooted, playing their childish games. His trousers 
were darned and patched, and his shirt was an old 
one of his father's made over to fit him, and now 
much worse for its hard usage. 

“Where's your shipmate, Harry? Who are you 
talking to?" 

Harry turned and there was his dory-mate, Ike 
Coffin, whose bare feet made no noise in the grassy 
lane. 

“Was I talking? I must have been thinking out 
loud. I wish we were shipmates on a whaler, or a 
merchant-man bound for Havana. I’m tired of doing 
nothing. I want to work and earn money to help 
mother, and to buy me some new clothes this fall. 
What am I going to do when school begins, or where 
will we get money to pay the teacher?" 

“Well, then you will get out of going," said Ike, 


4 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


who was always in difficulties with the teachers, and 
happy when school terms were over. 

“I want to go to school when I can’t go to sea. If 
I can’t be a sailor, I will be a business man. I’m 
going to be at the head of something, but I’d rather 
be a captain aboard a clipper.” 

“Didn’t you get wool this spring?” 

“Not enough to make the cloth we need. You 
remember when shearing day came we couldn’t find all 
our sheep. Some of them died on the commons last 
winter, and our clip was a small one. When mother 
carded and spun it, there wasn’t yarn enough to make 
much cloth.” 

“Mebbe your sheep didn’t die. The brand might 
have been changed.” 

“What do you mean, Ike? That couldn’t be? 
There’s nobody on the island would do such a mean 
trick on mother.” 

“Don’t be too sure. That man Mooney is getting 
rich pretty fast. He’s mean enough to steal the 
lobsters out of old Daddy Swayne’s pots. He had 
more sheep than his share on the commons last spring, 
and Levi told him they wouldn’t allow him to keep 
so many this year. Some of them couldn’t understand 
how his flock got so big in two years.” 

“Do the s’lectmen think he changed mother’s brand 
to his?” 


The Search on the Jennie B. 


5 


“They didn’t say so. They looked at his brands 
pretty close.” 

“I’ll ask Levi about it. Come on now.” 

“No. Lets go down to Matt Swazey’s shop. He’s 
going up to Wanwinet after dinner, and if he will let 
us go along we may get some blue fish.” 

“I want to ask Levi about the sheep.” 

“You can see him when we come back.” 

“I’m going to Levi’s now. That’s too mean a trick 
to stand, and I want to know all about it.” 

“Don’t get mad about it now, Harry. They 
couldn’t be sure about it, or they would have told 
your mother at the time, so she could make her com- 
plaint to the s’lectmen.” 

“Moony’s a stranger. Do they know anything about 
him?” 

“He’s an Englishman.” 

“Another British oppressor to rob us of our property 
and rights. They think the ocean is an English pond, 
and that nobody can sail a boat on it without asking 
leave of them.” 

“My father says Napoleon is the real cause of our 
troubles with England. He wants to be king of all 
Europe, and England won’t let him have it. So he 
is fighting England, and when he captures England 
and gets all her ships, then he will sweep all our ships 
off the oceans, and tell us just what we can do.” 


6 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Your father is a federalist and they all hate France, 
and say Jefferson is an ally of France.” 

“There’s a lot of good sense in what he says. He 
don’t stand up for England, but he thinks we ought 
not to go to war. He says the President is right in 
trying to avoid a war.” 

“The people are angry enough to go to war. Think 
of what happened last year when the Leander fired 
on the sloop, Richard, at New York and killed the 
helmsman, Pierce. Think of what the British war 
ships are doing all along the coast, and the men they 
have impressed, like my father. We are poor and 
ragged and sometimes hungry, because they captured 
him from a coasting vessel, and he can’t come back 
to work for his family. We wouldn’t be any worse 
off in a war than we are now. We are not ready for 
war, but we can get ready if we have to.” 

“What are you boys talking about?” Mrs. Macy 
asked, coming to the window. “It sounds like you 
were reciting a history lesson in school.” 

“We are talking over what the men say every night 
on the long wharf, Captain Coffin and Captain Chase, 
and Uncle Hiram, and Levi and all of them. I tell 
you, mother, the people are getting fighting mad.” 

“Well, Harry, you can cool off now by going up to 
the mill with a bushel of corn. We can get it ground 
as soon as Daniel Hussey’s grist is ground. Ask 
Cousin Ruth to lend you her wheel-barrow, and then 


The Search on the Jennie B. 


7 

we can give her some of the meal. She needs it, poor 
woman.” 

“But mother, I was going up to Levi’s store. Do 
you know if the brand on some of our sheep was 
changed ?” 

“Don’t you go blustering Levi about that. I know 
all about it. You get the corn ground this morning, 
or you may have to go clamming for your supper.” 

“We want to go out with Matt Swazey after dinner 
and try for blue fish.” 

“You can do that. I would like to have a fish.” 

The boys went up a lane, that was only ten feet 
wide, to a small cottage, where Ruth Chase lived all 
alone. Her only son, Peter, had been caught by a 
press gang in Liverpool, and killed at sea in a battle 
with a French warship. His mother was now a child- 
less widow, but she was not allowed to suffer for food, 
for nearly all the families on the island were related, 
and the unfortunate ones were taken care of in a kind 
way. There were other families, whose fathers or 
sons had been taken by English vessels from the 
coasters. The business of the Nantucket men, which 
was whaling and the coasting trade, had been entirely 
broken up by the oppressions of the English. The 
people had gone back again to primitive conditions. 
Their food came from the sea and from their gardens, 
and their clothing from the sheep on the commons. 

The wind mill was on a low hill, south of the village, 


8 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


and the boys did not have an easy task pushing the 
wheelbarrow through the sandy streets and roads. 
They could hear the wheel creaking, and see the big 
sails slowly sweeping up and down long before they 
reached it. As they came near, Ike ran up the slope 
and caught a sail as it was coming down, and hung 
on until it began to rise again on the other side. His 
ride was shortened by the angry miller, who seized 
him by the leg and gave him a hard jerk, which sent 
him sprawling in the clay bank, where he lay for a 
minute rubbing his knees and leg. 

“I’ll larn ye to let my sails alone. Must I hev my 
wheels and stones stopped by yer putting the cargo 
of yer lazy carcass on the sails? Try it agin, an I’ll 
rig up a jury mast, an tie ye to it, an give ye a 
taste o’ the cat.” 

Ike scrambled up in a hurry and got out of reach 
of the miller’s hands, and Harry came up and asked 
if he was ready to grind his mother’s corn. The miller 
answered him, in a surly tone, that he must wait his 
turn, but as Harry saw the hopper was nearly empty, 
and there was no other grist in sight, he knew he 
would not have long to wait. 

Ike grew bolder and came in, and the two boys 
examined the machinery. When the Hussey grist had 
run out, the wind had veered around to the northwest, 
and the miller slipped off the gearing, and went out to 
set his sails. The upper part, or hood of the mill, 


The Search on the Jennie B. 


9 


carrying the shaft, was framed separately from the 
rest of the mill, and moved around on wheels over a 
circular plate. On the side opposite the big wheel 
was a long timber fastened to the hood, and slanting 
down to a wheel which ran on a circular track around 
the mill. By this means the top could be turned 
around and the sails brought into the wind. 

The miller leaned his weight against this timber 
which he called his rudder, and the boys put their 
hands to it, and slowly the heavy frame was turned 
until the sails were brought around several points. 
Then the miller adjusted his gearings,^ and the ma- 
chinery hummed merrily, and the air grew dusty as 
Harry’s corn was ground. The miller did not thank 
the boys for their help, but his crusty manners thawed 
a little, and he civilly answered some of their questions. 
When the grist had run out he took out his toll, and 
Harry made ready to take his meal home. 

“There’s a sail off Tuckernuck. It’s a sloop.” Ike 
said coming in. 

“How d’ye know? You can’t see a sail from here,” 
said Harry. 

“You bin aloft on my rudder-pole, you raskil. I’ll 
skin you for that.” 

Ike, however, kept out of the miller’s reach, who 
was too curious about the sail to chase him. He 
climbed the stairs inside to a window, and saw the 
sloop running in as close as she could on a lee shore. 


10 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Looks like the Jennie B. and Captain Bunker spies 
danger.” The miller turned his glass to the east. 
“There’s another sail off Great Point. Bunker wants 
to run in here before she picks him up but he can’t 
do it. If she be an English sail, somewhat will happen 
in the harbor.” 

The boys raced off for home a good deal faster than 
they came. When they reached Center Street, they 
saw the old captains out on their walks, glass in hand, 
and down by the wharf knots of excited men talking, 
while others were rushing along to the road up the 
cliff. 

Now the glasses were turned on Great Point, and 
before long a thin column of smoke rose, and in a 
few minutes another signal fire was lighted, and its 
message of smoke carried over the island. Then the 
watchers knew that an English war vessel was passing 
through the sound, and was shaping its course toward 
the harbor. The sloop was now well past Tuckernuck 
and sailing fast before the wind. Signals were flying 
already from the Trot Hills, and the sloop was crowd- 
ing on all sail. In a half hour she crossed the bar, 
while the British schooner was still several miles in 
the offing. They watched her on her long tack, hoping 
her course would not be changed; but when she 
reached the right point men were seen to go aloft, 
the braces were hauled about, and the helm put hard 
a lee. The white wings filled again, and in less than 


The Search on the Jennie B. 


11 


an hour the schooner came racing around Brant point, 
and dropped her anchor in the Bay. The boys by 
this time had run down to the wharf, and Harry’s 
eyes grew round with wonder, and his heart was 
pumping like an engine, when he read on the white 
side of the schooner the name “Tigress.” 

“See there Ike! She’s the Tigress! I must know 
whether father’s aboard her. Do you think the captain 
will let him come ashore?” 

“No such good luck for him. If the captain knows 
he’s a Nantucket man, he will put a guard over him.” 

“I’m going to watch close and find out. He’ll give 
us some signal, or send us a message. If I was to go 
out the captain would let me see him.” 

“Perhaps he will try to escape. You keep quiet 
till he makes some sign.” 

Now the boys got interested in what was taking 
place on the Tigress. An officer hailed the sloop. 

“What ship is that?” 

“The Jenny B.” 

“Where from?” 

“New Bedford.” 

“Where bound?” 

“Boston with corn, flour, and sugar.” 

A boat was lowered, and an officer and several 
marines soon boarded the sloop. The officer insisted 
on examining the cargo. The sugar was in French 


12 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


boxes, and it was ordered to be brought out as contra- 
band goods. Captain Bunker protested in vain. 

He went aboard the Tigress, and had a stormy 
interview with the captain, but with no result except 
to anger the Englishman. Captain Bunker said he 
would enter complaint of the robbery with the Secre- 
tary of State, and the English Government would be 
compelled to make good the loss. The captain’s answer 
to that was a derisive laugh. 

When the sugar had been transferred, the officer 
ordered Captain Bunker to muster his crew on deck. 
Although he saw another outrage was to be imposed 
on him, he was obliged to submit. The lieutenant 
looked at the sailors and declared two of them looked 
like Englishmen. They swore they were Massachu- 
setts men, from Cape Cod. One of the marines said 
he knew them, and gave them names they never heard 
of, and then another marine declared he had seen them 
on board an English ship. The two sailors indig- 
nantly denied that they had ever served on English 
vessels, but the lieutenant ordered them to get into 
his gig, and carried them off to the Tigress. All 
this caused a great stir among the men on the wharf, 
and made them very indignant over the outrages. But 
as they did not know what this tyrannical captain 
might do next, they could do no more than make a 
strong protest against his illegal actions. 


CHAPTER II. 


William Macy Surrenders Himself. 

In the meantime, Harry and Ike untied a small 
boat, without waiting to ask Levi Coffin if they might 
use it. He probably would have refused, for there 
was no telling what this arrogant Englishman might 
do with the property of the islanders. Harry was too 
impatient to know whether his father was on board 
to remain quiet on the pier. He hoped to see him, or 
get a word or two from him, before he sailed off again. 
So he pulled out as if to take a look at the Tigress. 
As they passed around the schooner, he saw a man's 
head close under the hull, and a rope hanging above 
him. The man held up a hand, and motioned to 
them to sheer off up the bay, and then he dived. In 
a moment he came up nearer, and then dived again. 
This soon brought him near, and Harry started as 
he saw the man's face, for it was his father. 

“Keep quiet, boy, I’m your daddy." 

He floated around to the larboard side of the dory. 

“Is any one looking this way on the Tigress?" 

“No, there’s no one on the larboard. They are 
watching the Jennie B." 

“Pass your painter under the thwart, and give me a 
holt." 


13 


14 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


He took the rope, and kept in the shadow of the 
boys, while they pulled hard towards the Shimmo 
shore a half mile away. 

“There’s some kind of a muss on shipboard,” said 
Ike. “It looks like they’ve missed you, and are mus- 
tering the crew. There’s an officer pointing this way, 
and he’s sent a man aloft.” 

The next minute the officer hailed, 

“Boat ahoy, pull to the ship.” 

“Pay no attention, boys. Row hard.” 

There was a puff of smoke and a musket cracked, 
and a bullet struck the water too short to reach them. 
The boys pulled steadily ahead. Then one of the 
schooner’s guns was fired, but the shot went over 
them. This did not stop the boys, who were now 
getting into shoal water, within two hundred yards 
of the shore. 

“I’ll run for it, Harry, and I know where to hide. 
They are lowering their gig. Run your boat in the 
inlet, and hide in the swamp.” 

Long before the gig came up the boys had run 
their light boat into a cove, and were safely hidden. 
Harry’s father had run for a smuggler’s cave, and he 
knew the searchers would not find him. The lieuten- 
ant came in a yawl with more men, and they patrolled 
the beach, and searched among the bushes for an 
hour, but found no one. The captain sent a boat 
ashore, and demanded the return of the deserter, but 


William Macy Surrenders Himself 


15 


the selectmen knew nothing of his escape, and could 
do nothing about his return. The captain vented his 
anger on the Jennie B. He fired several shots at her, 
riddling her rigging, and cutting down her mast, and 
then, because the boys had aided in the escape of his 
sailor, he sent a shot into a group of children gathered 
near Brant Point light. Fortunately no one was 
hurt. The girls screamed, and the boys grew pale 
with fear, and all scattered, hardly daring to look 
around. They climbed up the sandy cliff, and sneaked 
back through the lanes into the village, and not a 
child showed itself on the beach until the sails of the 
Tigress were sinking below the western horizon. 

But the Tigress remained in the harbor for several 
hours, and did not sail until she had committed 
another injury whose evil consequences lasted for 
years, and laid a burden on Harry’s shoulders that 
was heavy for so young a lad. 

Captain Tompson was enraged at the desertion of 
Macy, not only because he was a first class seaman, 
and too valuable a man to lose, but also because the 
desertion of seamen was a very serious matter on all 
the English war vessels in American waters. The 
men were discontented because they were cruelly 
treated, and their pay was small. When the American 
commerce was flourishing sailors were in demand, 
and wages were sometimes three times what seamen 


16 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


received in the English navy, or on their merchant 
vessels. 

The captain now discovered that Macy was a Nan- 
tucket man, and although the fact made his retention 
illegal, it did not deter Captain Thompson from making 
strenuous efforts to recover him. When Lieutenant 
Smith reported that there were two Nantucket lads 
in the crew of the Jennie B, he cunningly devised a 
scheme for securing the deserter that would have done 
credit to a savage Shawnee Indian. He sent the 
lieutenant back to the sloop with a double crew, and 
told him to bring the two young men back, if he had 
to go ashore to find them, and if any protest was 
made to order their parents to come aboard the 
Tigress. 

The young men were not, in fact, a part of the 
regular crew. They wanted to get back to their homes 
from New Bedford, and agreed to work their passage. 
One of them was James Mitchel, the son of a poor 
widow, and the other was Tom Starbuck, the only son 
of Thaddeus Starbuck, an old and wealthy sea captain, 
who lived in one of the big houses on Center Street. 
One son had been lost at sea, a daughter died in her 
youth, and only Tom was left. 

The boy was wild and head-strong, and his father 
had a hasty temper, and the two did not get along 
peaceably. The father wanted him to study, and the 
boy was wild to go to sea. He seemed to delight in 


William Macy Surrenders Himself 


17 


the worst companions he could find, and would not 
listen to his father’s advice, and the antagonism 
between them grew so great, that Tom left home on 
a passing schooner, early in the spring and had not 
been heard from since. Now, with empty pockets, the 
prodigal was coming back home. 

Captain Starbuck was all broken up by the message 
sent to him by Captain Bunker, that his son had 
been impressed on the Tigress, and Mrs. Starbuck 
was completely prostrated. As soon as he could 
leave her, he went down to the wharf, and heard all 
the story. It was plain that the boys were taken as 
hostages to compel the return of William Macy. He 
induced the selectmen to go out with him to hold an 
interview with Captain Thompson. The British com- 
mander was very arrogant, making many threats, but 
the selectmen were bold and dignified in their replies, 
holding out a resolute front against such acts of op- 
pression. But Captain Starbuck was ready to com- 
promise. 

“What do you want to release my boy? He’s not 
fit for a sailor. He is only sixteen years old.” 

“I’ll not release either one unless I get Macy back.” 

“I will pay you a hundred dollars, twenty pounds to 
ransom Tom.” 

“I don’t want your money.” 

“Then I’ll make it one hundred pounds.” 

“I say I don’t want your money. Bring that 


18 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


deserter aboard and you can take the two boys ashore. 
You need not waste time on any other terms/’ 

“I cannot get Macy, nor can I compel him to come 
aboard again. You haven’t made his life on shipboard 
an easy one, so that he wants to ship again with you.” 

“You are compelled to acknowledge that Macy is a 
Nantucket man, and not a British subject, and that 
your detention of him would be illegal. Therefore 
your seizing of these boys is a double crime. All these 
facts will be laid before the President and Secretary 
of State.” 

Captain Thompson listened to Levi Coffin’s state- 
ment. Then his face hardened. 

“The Tigress will sail at high tide this evening. 
If Macy is aboard then, the boys will be put ashore. 
I care nothing for all your protests and the procla- 
mations from your President. You need not waste 
time here, but go and find Macy.” 

The selectmen when they reached the pier urged 
Captain Starbuck to take up the proposal, and try 
to induce Macy to go back. Levi Coffin and Martin 
Hussey went with him, in one of the four-wheeled 
box carts, toward the Shimmo shore. They found 
William concealed in a smuggler’s cave, and had a 
long talk with him. At first he would not listen 
to any proposition. Liberty was too sweet to be given 
up again. His family needed him. They would 
starve without his support, and it was his duty to 


William Macy Surrenders Himself 


19 


take care of them. Besides war was coming, and he 
was not one to join the enemy, and fight against 
his own flag. 

“You need not be concerned about your family. I 
will provide for them, as if they were my own chil- 
dren ?” said Captain Starbuck. “They will be kept 
in comfort, and the children sent to school.” 

“I can’t do it. If you knew the tyranny of that 
brute of a commander, you wouldn’t ask me to go 
back. It’s a flogging I’ll get as soon as he clears 
port, and bread and water for a week.” 

“Think then what Tom will suffer under him. That 
boy won’t bear restraint. He is violent in temper and 
stubborn. He will be flogged to death. Or if that 
should not happen he will be ruined by bad company.” 

“You should have brought him up differently.” 

“I have tried in vain to make him an industrious, 
sober boy. His mother has done everything for him 
but in vain. She is broken-hearted now, and I fear 
she will not live long if he is carried off. You do not 
know how frail she is.” 

This last appeal touched William Macy, for Mrs. 
Starbuck had been a good friend to him in his youth. 
The captain saw his advantage, and followed it up, 
and repeated his promise to look after the family 
until Macy returned. Finally it was settled. Captain 
Starbuck offered to pay William a hundred dollars 
that day, but he declined it, leaving it to the captain’s 


20 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


honor to keep his word when Mrs. Macy needed it. 
For he had thirty English pounds sewed up in his 
clothing which would be all they would need for some 
months, and he did not want to feel dependent on 
any one. 

William got into the cart and went home, but the 
joyous greeting of his wife and children was soon 
turned into sorrow, when they heard that he was 
going back to the Tigress. He had little time to be 
with them, for all the town people were like one 
family, and they wanted to see William before he 
went away again. 

Mr. Macy charged Harry to be a good boy, to work 
hard, to take good care of his mother and his brothers 
and sisters. 

“I may never see you again, my son, but if I live, 
I will come back. They will watch me close, but I 
may get another chance to escape. In three years my 
enlistment as they call it will expire, and perhaps I will 
be released. ,, 

Mrs. Macy clung to her husband feeling sure she 
would never see him again. She begged him to stay, 
and let the boys be taken. But nothing could change 
Mr. Macy’s purpose, having given his word, although 
he was a tender-hearted man, and his wife’s tears and 
pleading wrung his heart. At last in the middle of 
the afternoon he tore himself away from her and the 
children, and passed out of the mass of cousins and 






Captain Starbuck in a tremrling voice thanked 
Mr. Macy for his magnanimous action 



William Macy Surrenders Himself 


21 


aunts, who filled the house, and thronged about the 
door, and flocked with him down the streets. The 
long wharf was black with men and women, and 
he could hardly press his way through the friendly 
throngs, who insisted on taking the hand of this 
noble man, who was sacrificing himself for young men 
who were hardly worthy of such costly devotion. 

The selectmen had sent word to Captain Thomp- 
son, and a boat manned by sixteen sailors was waiting 
near the pier. When William appeared at the steps 
with the officials, the boat was pulled in. 

“Get aboard, Macy,” the lieutenant ordered. “We 
have you now, and you will not get another chance 
to desert.” 

Then Captain Starbuck, with the breeze fluttering 
his white hair, clasped Mr. Macy’s hand, and thanked 
him in a trembling voice for his magnanimous action. 

“Lieutenant Smith, this man has made a noble 
sacrifice in surrendering himself to your service, for 
which you have no claim. I hope your commander 
will appreciate his conduct and treat him well, for he 
deserves high honor.” 

“He will get what he deserves,” the lieutenant 
answered in a hard sneering voice. The hearts of all 
who heard his words were filled with apprehension, 
and a swift murmur of sorrow and anger passed 
through the crowd of William’s friends. The lieuten- 
ant did not give them any chance at an attempt to 


22 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


rescue him. As soon as the transfer was effected, 
the men pushed the boat from the pier, the boatswain 
gave the word, and the oars flashed in the water. 
In a few moments the men were at the capstan lifting 
the anchor and others were manning the yards. In an 
hour the schooner was far off beyond Tuckernuck, and 
what was taking place on her decks was hidden from 
observation by the bulwarks. The men on the walks 
turned their glasses constantly to the vessel, but they 
could see nothing of William Macy. Whether he 
was confined in the brig or tied up to a mast and 
flogged, was left to conjecture. They believed that 
the captain wanted him back because he was a good 
seaman, and that he could not help feeling some ad- 
miration for his nobility of conduct, and so they hoped 
that he would not be severely treated. On the other 
hand the cruel spirit he had shown towards unoffend- 
ing Americans, and his arrogant disregard of their 
rights, gave good reason to fear that Macy would be 
very harshly treated. No word came of his fate, and 
Mrs. Macy expected none, and for many days she 
went about her humble duties under a cloud of anxiety 
and sorrow, which was lightened some but not dis- 
pelled by the sympathy of her neighbors and friends. 

As for Harry he seldom forgot his father. His 
reverence for him was deepened by his last act of 
sacrifice, and his love for him grew stronger by his 
daily anxious thought for him. His own sufferings 


William Macy Surrenders Himself 


23 


led him to perceive more clearly the hardships inflicted 
by the British upon seamen and their families, and 
the ship owners and merchants all along the coast of 
the United States, from Maine to Georgia. Millions 
of money would not replace the financial loss, and 
God alone could count the tears and measure the 
heart throbs of the suffering ones. 

This hard experience had a greater influence on 
Harry’s character than anything which had happened 
in all his twelve years. What he had learned at school, 
and his teacher’s influence, had made him proud of 
his country. But now he realized that he was a part- 
of it. All were suffering loss, poverty, and deep 
sorrow, and he was one of them. The time was 
coming when the nation must rise up, and assert its 
rights, and dare to maintain them. He must not be 
idling away his time in useless play, but be getting 
ready to do a man’s part, when the hour for action 
struck. 


CHAPTER III. 

The Man From the Chesapeake. 

But all the exciting occurrences of this eventful 
day had not yet transpired. When the masts of the 
Tigress were sinking below the horizon, Captain 
Bunker announced that he had a wounded man from 
the Chesapeake concealed on board. 

“A man from the Chesapeake ! and wounded !” 
exclaimed Levi Coffin. “What has happened to the 
Chesapeake ?” 

“The British war frigate, the Leopard, fired on the 
Chesapeake, disabled the ship, killed three men and 
wounded eighteen.” 

“Impossible! It’s an act of war!” 

“Aye ! ’Tis, Levi. An unprovoked assault on a 
vessel of the American navy, and an insult to our 
flag. IPs the most outrageous of all the outrages the 
insolent Englishmen have committed. I didn’t suppose 
that tyrannical captain of the Tigress had yet heard 
of it, and I didn’t know what he would do if he should 
learn it on my sloop.” 

“We wondered why you were so afraid of him. We 
understand now. Tell us what happened.” 

“It was all Admiral Berkeley’s doings, and the 
English government is responsible for it. It was no 
24 


The Man From the Chesapeake 


25 


accident. He heard that deserters from the English 
fleet had enlisted on the Chesapeake, and sent the 
Leopard from his headquarters at Halifax to Hampton 
Roads to stop the Chesapeake and search her. I 
suppose now all their vessels have orders to search 
for deserters, and as this vessel was coming from 
that direction, I thought I had reason to try to get 
away from her. You can see I was right in my 
apprehension. Look at the condition of my vessel. 
It’s going to cost me a tidy sum to refit her, and then, 
there’s the sugar they stole. But that’s not what 
hurts me most. Think of the shame of being handled 
so by these Englishmen, whom I hate from the bottom 
of my heart, without our having any chance to strike 
back. War would be no worse for us than such a 
pusillanimous condition of things.” 

Captain Bunker’s vigorous and angry sentences were 
freely blackened with oaths, which need not be 
repeated here. Martin Hussey was a Friend, to whom 
swearing was ordinarily very offensive, but his loyal 
heart was so stirred by this strange story that he 
forgot to utter a protest against the profanity. 

“Who is the Chesapeake man?” he asked. 

“Jim Patterson of Portland, a good seaman and a 
fellow of intelligence and good spirit. His right arm 
was broken, and he got a furlough of six weeks while 
his ship is being refitted.” 


26 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“How did it happen our ship was so crippled? 
Couldn’t she defend herself?” 

“No. She hadn’t a gun ready to fire. It was the 
worst piece of mismanagement you ever heard of; 
just like all the naval affairs under Jefferson. We 
have a big commerce, thousands of vessels, and hardly 
a single warship anywhere ready to defend them. 
What do you think of such fool-hardy neglect of 
property, worth many millions of dollars, and of the 
lives of the seamen who are carrying it?” 

“I will go with thee to the sloop, and bring the 
man to my home, and Susannah will nurse him up 
while thou art refitting thy vessel.” 

“Friend Martin, your kindness comes just at the 
right time. He is not doing well. His arm is in bad 
shape and needs daily dressing, and he should have 
more nourishing food than we have in our cook’s 
galley.” 

There was renewed excitement in Nantucket, when 
this strange piece of news passed in a short time from 
mouth to mouth. Another great crowd was at the 
pier when James landed, and there were many offers 
of help to the wounded sailor. In a few days he was 
so much better that he was able to sit on the stoop, 
and there was always a group of boys or men to keep 
him company, or a woman or two to bring him some 
tempting delicacy. He protested in vain, saying he 
would die of indigestion, if he ate one-fourth of the 


The Man From the Chesapeake 


27 


chicken, jelly, rolls and cake they brought him, and 
that he wished his mates on shipboard could share the 
feast with him. 

“Don’t tell me they are neglected. The good people 
of Norfolk have taken care of them.” 

“Surely, such an excitement as the attack on our 
ship created in Norfolk you never saw anywhere. The 
stores were all deserted and closed up. The people 
thronged the open spaces and wharves to learn all 
about the assault. The British consul was frightened, 
as well he might be, and locked himself up in his 
house. The people would not let any water, meat or 
green stuff be carried to any of the English ships. 
All the men had crape on their sleeves. When Captain 
Douglass, the English commander of the fleet in Lynn 
Haven Bay, sent a hostile message to the mayor about 
the conduct of the citizens he got a pretty stiff answer. 
The mayor sent him word that the people of the 
United States could not be frightened by threats or 
intimidated by his menaces. 

“Does thee say there is a fleet of English warships 
in the Chesapeake Bay?” Susannah Hussey asked. 

“Yes. They keep a fleet there all the time, just 
as if it was an English sheet of water. They act 
as if they had forgotten the Revolution, but we have 
not forgotten. You should have heard the people talk 
all along the coast. Baltimore, Philadelphia, Wilming- 
ton, New York were boiling over. The murder of 


28 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Pierce did not arouse them so. They would stand 
by the President if he would declare war.” 

“The President cannot declare war, but he could 
easily make war, if he were so weak or wicked. He 
is wise and will use every means to make England 
redress this wrong and many others. 

“But Mrs. Hussey — ” Patterson began 

“Thee must not give me any title. Use the plain 
language and call me Susannah.” 

James smiled as he replied, “I will call thee mother, 
for thou art the most motherly and tender-hearted 
woman I have seen since I left my own home. But 
I was going to say, the people are greatly disturbed, 
because the President has left the country unprepared 
for defence by land and sea. They demand a strong 
navy as a protection of the sea coast and of our 
merchant vessels.” 

“I do not believe in war, James, either on land or 
sea. 

“Well then, mother, to prevent war, you should 
advocate a strong navy. At this time, at least, a strong 
nation would be allowed to keep the peace. England 
would respect the rights of the United States if she 
knew we would defend them from any attack. But 
seeing us so weak she takes what she pleases, and 
insults us every day. She is a big bully, and you 
know the bully does not attack the strong, but picks 
out those who are weaker than himself.” 


The Man From the Chesapeake 


29 


“There is reason in thy talk. It may be that our 
weak condition tempts unprincipled officers to attack 
our ships, steal our goods, and murder our seamen. 
They are far from home, and perhaps forget their 
instructions. I cannot think the English government 
sanctions such wicked acts.” 

“They may not order them to do such things, but 
the officers know they will not be rebuked for doing 
so. It was the Admiral in command of the English 
navy in American waters, who issued that order to 
attack the Chesapeake. The President may demand 
his removal, but if he is removed it will be by pro- 
motion.” 

“James, thee is surely mistaken in such a charge.” 

“That is the opinion of some of our best and wisest 
men in Washington.” 

At this moment Susannah remembered her dinner, 
and went to the kitchen, from which savory odors of 
a fish chowder and hot rolls came floating through 
the house, and gave pleasing anticipations of an excel- 
lent dinner. Harry Macy and Ike Coffin had been 
sitting on the steps listening with deep interest to the 
vigorous discussion. Mother Hussey was a woman of 
good intellectual abilities, which she sometimes exer- 
cised when the spirit moved her in the Friend’s meet- 
ing. But James Patterson was also a good talker. 
He had been a seaman for several years, and in the 
navy for three years. He had an open, frank counten- 


30 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


ance, and very agreeable manners. He had used his 
eyes and ears well, and remembered what he had 
learned. He had the ability to understand the drift 
of public affairs, and the policy of England and Napo- 
leon, and the underlying causes of the trouble they 
were forcing upon the United States. 

The boys looked upon James as a hero, and they 
hung around the stoop whenever he was out of doors. 
Now they saw he was alone, and seemed ready to 
talk to them, and it was too grand an opportunity to 
be lost; so they eagerly begged him to tell them the 
whole story of the attack on the Chesapeake. 

James Patterson took out his pipe and a little deer- 
skin bag, filled with Virginia tobacco, while the boys 
waited with eager expectation for the beginning of the 
story of the attack. 

“I don’t like to smoke when Mother Hussey is out 
here,” he said as he filled his pipe, “and I wouldn’t 
think of smoking in her clean, sweet-smelling house. 
But if you boys want to hear about what happened to 
my ship, one of you may bring me a coal to light my 
pipe, and then we can have as comfortable a talk as 
if we were sitting under the gunnel or on the fok’sel, 
after the sunset gun is fired, and the ship bowling 
along with all sails set.” 

Harry ran around the house to the kitchen and soon 
returned with a live coal in a clam shell. 

“ You didn’t bring it in your bare hands?” 


The Man From the Chesapeake 


31 


“I cal’late I could do it if I had to, but I wouldn’t 
burn my fingers for nothing.” 

“Fll tell you when one of our officers didn’t wait for 
tongs or clam shells, but brought a burning coal in 
his hands to fire a gun.” 

y ‘‘Hurry on and tell us all about it. I knew we 
hadn’t heard half the exciting things you could tell.” 

“If you want to hear it all I must tell you how I 
came to enlist on the Chesapeake. I was on the sloop, 
Fannie, bound from New Orleans to Boston. About 
the middle of April we were abreast of Hatteras when 
there came on a gale, that split our mainsel to ribbons, 
and drove us under bare poles almost on the beach. 
But we weathered it out, and crept along under what 
canvass we could stretch till we rode out the gale. 
Then our captain put into Hampton Roads, and went 
up to Norfolk to refit. We were all busy stretching 
new sails when he sent me ashore to buy a cable. 

Now I wan’t long about it, only taking time to make 
the best bargain fer our skipper, and perhaps hailing 
a maid or two who went by under full sail. When I 
came back to the slip with a colored boy wheeling 
down my cable in a barrow, the boat was gone, and 
I looked for the Fanny and she was under sail far 
down the river. There was no way I could reach her 
then, and for half an hour I drifted around, not 
knowing what port to make. Then a sailor came by 
who asked if I was looking for the Fanny. 


32 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Ay,” I said, “and she has marooned me here on 
a strange beach.” 

“You are Patterson? Your skipper left a message. 
He heard some men had deserted from the English 
war vessel, Melampus, and the captain was mad and 
going to get even, and he was afraid he would be 
stopped and searched, and some of his men impressed, 
and leave him short-handed, so he made sail in a jiffy. 
He said for you to return the cable, and join the Fanny 
when you could.” 

“I won’t be in a hurry to join. He can go to Davy 
Jones’ locker for all I care. He knew where I was, 
and could have hailed me before he hauled up his 
anchor.” 

My money soon ran short among the sharks that 
bleed poor Jack ashore, and I began to look about 
for a chance to ship. Then I met Lieutenant Sinclair, 
and he soon had me anchored down on his books for 
the Chesapeake, and in three days he sent twenty of 
us up to Washington, where she was lying, slowly 
getting ready for sea. She was to go out to the Medi- 
terranean to relieve the Constitution, and was overdue 
now. 

But I must tell you what I saw in Norfolk for it is 
part of the tale, and I think had much to do with the 
murderous attack on our ship. The day after I was 
left ashore, I was cruising down Main Street, and 
taking note of the goods in the windows and the fine 


The Man From the Chesapeake 


33 


ladies as they sailed down the coast with all colors 
flying and the bands playing, when I saw a couple of 
gay-looking young bloods coming up from the river, 
and behind them a heavy-built, proud-looking man, 
in the splendid dress of an English sea captain. He 
looked as if he owned land and sea, and we were the 
dust under his feet. The young swells were a lieuten- 
ant and a midshipman. The lieutenant hailed a tar 
on the opposite side of the street, and then the three 
men tacked about, and after a minute I luffed over 
that way, for I saw the breeze was blowing up a 
right smart gale of a row. I heard the big bloke say 
in a lordly tone. 

“Jenkyn Ratford you have deserted from your ship, 
and disgraced yourself by leaving your duty. Go back 
at once to the Halifax. Walk right down to the pier 
and Fll put you aboard.” 

But Ratford set his eyes on the captain and cursed 
him to his face. 

“Don’t lay hands on me, you devil. I’ll never go 
aboard your ship again. I’m a free man. I’m an 
American. I’ll never be a slave on an English ship 
again. Curse you, I say, and I hope the Yankees wdll 
blow the Halifax where she belongs.” 

“I’ll have you yet, you insolent whelp.” 

“I tell you I’m an American. I never was an Eng- 
lishman, and you don’t dare take me again.” 

“You are an Englishman and a deserter, and I’ll 


34 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


hang you in chains from the Halifax,” the commander 
roared out, his face red and arm shaking with passion. 

Some sailors in the crowd said he was Lord James 
Townshend, the captain of the Halifax, lying in Lynn 
Haven Bay. Ratford went off, for the English dared 
not touch him in Norfolk, and the commandant went 
to the consul’s house, and they made out a list of a 
dozen men, who had deserted from their vessels, and 
were said to be enlisted in the American navy. 

I asked the tars what all the row was. They said 
that about a month before the Halifax was weighing 
anchor, and five sailors lowered the jolly-boat. That 
young midshipman ordered them to hoist it in, but 
they drew their knives and said they would kill him. 
He was so flustrated he made no alarm until the men 
had dropped into her. A shot was fired at them as 
they pulled off, and a boat lowered but they escaped. 
The story was, that all the men had enlisted for the 
Chesapeake, but I saw no one but this Ratford. 

There were other desertions. It was in March that 
they had a big party on the Melampus. The gig was 
made fast to the stern but not hoisted in, after bring- 
ing some ladies aboard. Several men slipped over the 
side and rowed off, and the watch did not see them 
at first. When the alarm was given a gun was shotted 
and fired, and another, but they got off to the Vir- 
ginia shore without a scratch. Three of them came 


The Man From the Chesapeake 


35 


into Norfolk and were enlisted by Sinclair, and they 
were working on the Chesapeake when I joined her. 

I don’t know anything about the others, but those 
three men were just as genuine American-born as you 
and I. One of them was a black man from the west 
part of Massachusetts. His name was Dan Martin. 
He was pressed from the brig Neptune in 1805. Now 
you know a nigger is not an Englishman. Another of 
them, pressed at the same time and place, was William 
Ware of the eastern shore of Maryland, who was 
known by our Master-Commandant to have been born 
near his home. The third man was John Strachan, 
also from Maryland, as anybody would know by his 
talk. He had been taken two years before at Cape 
Finistere. But the English have grown so bold, since 
they meet with no resistance from us, that they pay 
no attention to Yankeeism like mine or yours, or to 
southern dialect. If they want a man they call him 
a Yorkshire or a Cornwall man, even if he talks like 
a darkey.” 


CHAPTER IV. 


The Leopard And The Chesapeake. 

Patterson’s pipe nearly went out as he was talking. 
He shook out the ashes, and said he wouldn’t smoke 
any more till after dinner, and then went on with his 
story. 

“When our squad reached the navy yard, they put 
me on a stage with a long handled spade to scrape 
off the barnacles on the bottom of the Chesapeake and 
my mate on the job was Ratford. But when I spoke 
to him he said his name was not Ratford but Wilson, 
and that he was an American. I did not ask him any 
questions, for if there was going to be trouble I did 
not want to know anything about it. The other men, 
who deserted with Wilson or Ratford, did not stay 
long on the Chesapeake, but slipped off, and dis- 
appeared entirely. 

The English did not let the matter drop. The 
captains complained of the desertions to the consul, 
and he put the trouble before the government at W ash- 
ington through the English minister. Lieutenant 
Sinclair was ordered to enlist no more English desert- 
ers. The captains informed the admiral in command, 
and he resolved to take his own way to stop it. 

If ever a vessel, calling itself a thirty-six gun frigate, 
36 



Patterson shook the ashes from itis pipe and went 
ON WITH HIS STORY 





































































< 




































































The Leopard and the Chesapeake 


37 


was not ready to go to sea, where a strong squadron 
of an unfriendly navy was riding at anchor at the 
mouth of our own waters, the Chesapeake was that 
vessel. Not a gun was ready for use, and a good 
many of them we took aboard at Norfolk, where we 
lay for a couple of days, and they were not even 
mounted. The new sails were lying unrolled on the 
decks. The heavy supplies and ammunition were not 
stowed away, nothing was in place where it could be 
found when wanted, and instead of the neat and 
orderly appearance of a man-of-war, the decks were 
littered up with supplies of all descriptions. The crew 
of three hundred and seventy-five men had not been 
drilled, and many of them had just been taken on 
board. The vessel was four months overdue and 
Captain Barron, instead of putting everything in 
shipshape before sailing, with all this confusion aboard 
hoisted anchor on the morning of June 23rd about 
eight o’clock, and dropped down the bay and stood out 
to sea. 

What happened to us was no accident, although it 
was unexpected by Captain Barron, who was too easy 
and slipshod in his management. What happened had 
been ordered by the head of the English navy in 
America, and the spy-glasses of the English officers 
showed them how helpless our vessel was, and what 
an easy task it would be to humiliate us and insult 
our flag. 


38 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


They seemed friendly enough as we sailed by, but 
we noticed that they flew some signals in the fore- 
mast tops, and that the Leopard, lower down the bay, 
let go her sails and stood out to sea. Now, that 
should have put our officers on their guard, but 
instead of making ready for a challenge, they were, 
in a leisurely way, beginning to clear the sails and 
freight from the decks. 

Not much had been accomplished by three o’clock 
when we tacked ship to the northeast, being now 
out of sight of land. Then the Leopard bore in on 
us until she was within hail. Her captain, Humphreys, 
spoke the Chesapeake, and Captain Barron replied. 
The Englishman asked if we would carry some de- 
spatches to Europe, which was a customary courtesy, 
and our captain replied that he would. So they sent 
off a boat, but the paper the lieutenant handed our 
captain was a copy of an order from Admiral Berkeley 
to search the Chesapeake for deserters. The note of 
Captain Humphreys mentioned six vessels from which 
English sailors had deserted, but said nothing of the 
Melampus. Captain Barron replied that he had no 
deserters on board and refused to permit a search to 
be made. 

Now, boys, this was the biggest piece of cheek the 
English captains had showed us. Their government 
had given Berkeley no such authority. But he thought 
they would wink at it, if he overstepped his orders, 


The Leopard and the Chesapeake 


39 


and took on himself to decide one of the most deli- 
cate subjects of dispute between the two countries, 
and off-hand to insult the American flag, and to commit 
an outrage that was a just cause of war. 

The English officer pulled back to the Leopard, and 
Captain Barron ordered us all to quarters, and began 
to clear the ship for action. But what could be done 
with the decks still littered up with all that heavy 
cargo, which had been put aboard at Norfolk. Cart- 
ridges could not be found to fit the guns that were 
mounted; rammers were under the litter somewhere, 
and swabs and balls were anywhere but in their right 
place. Officers were scurrying around, calling for this 
and that, and ordering the men to turn over piles of 
stuff to find the necessary articles. 

Meantime Captain Humphreys hailed again, and our 
captain replied that he did not understand. Then the 
Leopard sent a message that he could understand — 
a ball across our bow, but Captain Barron took no 
notice of it. A few minutes later the Leopard bore 
up and fired a broadside, but Captain Barron continued 
on his course, while the officers were working over 
the guns to load and fire them. Another broadside 
poured into our doomed ship, and the mainmast fell 
and the foremast was broken, and men were falling on 
the decks, splinters were flying, and the rigging was 
badly cut up. 

Another broadside struck us, and that was the one 


40 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


that caught me. I was standing near the mizzenmast 
when some of the shot flew over us and others tore 
great holes in our hull. One struck my arm as I was 
lifting a sail that was still lying on the pile of cannon 
balls in the run. I thought my arm was torn from its 
socket, and then a great spar came down on me, and 
for a moment I didn’t know whether I was living or 
dead. 

Then I heard Captain Barron shout, “For God’s sake, 
Lieutenant, fire off one gun before the flag comes 
down.” 

“The loggerheads are all cold,” was the answer. 

But at that moment Lieutenant Allen came running 
from the cook’s galley with a live coal in his bare 
hands, and laid it on the touch hole, and the gun went 
off with a roar. 

“You’ve hulled her,” the captain said, and then 
ordered the flag to be hauled down. 

What a wreck our vessel was ! All her sails, 
rigging, and spars were riddled with grape and cannis- 
ter. The main and foremasts were down, and the 
mizzenmast broken, and twenty-one shot had torn 
great holes in our sides and hull. There was three 
feet of water in our hold, and she was leaking badly. 
Worst of all, three men were dead and eighteen 
wounded. 

Worst of all, did I say? No! Far worse was the 
mustering, and the taking of those three men, Dan 


The Leopard and the Chesapeake 


41 


Martin, Bill Ware and Jack Strachan, all Americans 
as much as you and I are Americans, so born and 
raised. But Wilson, or Ratford, was not in the line, 
and those English tars searched our vessel high and 
low, as if they had been told he was aboard. At last 
they found him among the barrels and ballast in the 
hold, and dragged him out, cursing them, and swear- 
ing that he was not an Englishman, but an American. 

The three men also protested earnestly against 
being taken off, declaring that they were true Ameri- 
can-born citizens of the United States, and our captain 
maintained, that it was a clear violation of law for 
the English officers to take them. But what was the 
use to speak of law to such arrogant violators of all 
rights and international usages, as these men, who 
were no better than pirates. 

Boys, imagine our deep disgrace. Our beautiful 
vessel nearly a wreck, our men killed and wounded 
without cause, our fellow-citizens seized as criminals 
and their just rights violated, and our flag insulted; 
the flag we revere and love. 

Captain Barron sent word to the English captain to 
come and take possession of his prize; but he dis- 
claimed any intention of capturing the ship, and sailed 
back to Lynn Haven Bay with the men he had seized. 

It was not more than fifteen minutes that we were in 
that storm of iron hail, but it nearly finished us. If 
our ship had been ready for action, the result would 


42 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


have been very different, if the Leopard had alone 
attacked us ; but in all probability, if the English had 
not known that we were helpless. Captain Douglass 
would have sent out another frigate to aid the Leopard. 

Captain Barron set the pumps to work, and ordered 
the wreckage cleared away. Then a jury mast was 
rigged up, and sails stretched, and slowly we sailed 
back again to Hampton Roads, while the surgeons 
were working over the wounded men in the cock-pit. 

In the afternoon we dropped anchor, and Captain 
Barron sent a boat with eleven of our wounded men 
into Norfolk, and such an excitement was produced 
by our landing as I have never seen in my short life. 
Some fishermen had heard the firing, and spread the 
story that the Leopard had sunk the Chesapeake ; and 
when we came in, and the true nature of the outrage 
was revealed, the people were wild with anger and 
ready for mischief. The men either closed or deserted 
their stores, clerks and buyers were with the crowds at 
the wharf, or thronging the streets. 

Some English officers happened to be ashore when 
the stir began. They hastened to their boats, at first 
walking, but soon on a run with a hooting crowd at 
their heels, pelting them with rotten vegetables. The 
British consul shut up his house, and did not show 
himself on the street for days. 

The citizens adopted spirited means of showing 
their indignation. The mayor called a mass meeting, 


The Leopard and the Chesapeake 43 

and no one stayed away. They resolved that no 
supplies of any kind should be sent to the British ships, 
and that any man who would attempt to do this would 
be an enemy to his country. They appointed a com- 
mittee to correspond with the people in Baltimore and 
other cities, and resolved to wear crape on their 
sleeves. 

One of the finest citizens asked me to go to his 
house, and to make my home there, and his wife and 
daughters treated me as nicely as if I had been the 
President, and so it was with all our wounded men. 
They acted as if we were heroes, and the best of the 
land was none too good for us. If my arm had not 
hurt so much, that would have been the happiest time 
I ever enjoyed. 

The excitement spread all over the coast, and the 
people seemed ready for anything, and it seems a 
wonder that some mischief was not done that would 
have precipitated war with England. There was a 
sloop full of water casks for the Melampus near 
Hampton village. When the men discovered it, they 
went aboard and broke up every cask. 

Of course, the men knew that Captain Douglass of 
the Bellona, who was commander of the squadron, 
would resent any actions that infringed on what he 
considered English rights. So they begged Captain 
Decatur to bring his gunboats down the Elizabeth 
river. None of them were ready, but Decatur is an 


44 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


energetic man, and prompt to do what must be done ; 
and as full of fight as a game chicken. He set every 
man to work that Sunday morning, and the next day 
four gunboats, fully armed, manned, and provisioned 
came down to Hampton Roads. 

Instead of lying off the village of Hampton, Decatur 
anchored in the Roads, for he did not believe the 
Chesapeake was safe. A few days later the Melampus, 
Leopard, Triumph and Bellona sailed up, and formed 
in line of battle, and we were glad Decatur was there 
to protect our disabled frigate. 

Captain Douglass knew the militia was ordered 
out, and he did not land a force to secure supplies. He 
sent in a formal complaint to the mayor, and threat- 
ened “that unless the resolutions were immediately 
annulled, not a vessel should go in or out of Norfolk. 
The British flag never had been and never should be 
insulted with impunity.” 

The mayor was not flustered. He reminded Captain 
Douglass that it was the fourth of July, and the people 
of the United States were not to be frightened by 
threats, or intimidated by menaces. Then Captain 
Douglass drew in his horns, and made some explana- 
tions, but the Norfolk men did not relax their vigilance, 
and the warships went back to their anchorage.” 

“What became of the men they took from the 
Chesapeake?” Harry inquired. 

“They were tried by court martial. Ratford was 


The Leopard and the Chesapeake 


45 


condemned to death, and Lord James did not wait 
to hear from England or even from Berkeley. He 
hanged him from the fore yard arm of the Halifax.” 

“But what about the others?” Harry asked. 

James saw that Harry was thinking of his own 
father’s fate and answered guardedly. 

“I don’t suppose they treated them very harshly. 
They were condemned by the court martial, but the 
sentence was probably suspended until they hear from 
their home government. If the President is firm they 
will have to put those men back on the deck of the 
Chesapeake with apologies, or go to war.” 

“Did they whip them? That is what I want to 
know.” 

“I don’t think they did. But they were condemned 
to have five hundred lashes apiece. That’s to make 
an example to deserters.” 

“What? Five hundred lashes ! It would kill a man,” 
Harry exclaimed almost on the verge of tears. “My 
father! My father! Did you go back to such horrid 
cruelty as that?” 

“Aye! my boy. It would kill a man, and that 
would be a mercy. For if a man survived, his body 
would be marked for life, and his spirit broken. That 
is worse than death.” 

Harry was so crushed by the awful thoughts of his 
father’s sufferings, that he could think of nothing else. 
James tried to divert him from his anxious forebodings 


46 


Don't Give Up the Ship 


by suggesting that as his father was such a valuable 
seaman, Captain Thompson would not really injure 
him. 

“Don’t feel so bad, Harry! I don’t believe he had 
more than a dozen lashes if he got any.” 

“But you know how cruel Captain Thompson was. 
Remember what he did. That’s proof enough of 
what he would do. Oh ! I wish father had not surren- 
dered, and had let Tom Starbuck have a taste of what 
he deserves, the drunken, idle lout! We will never 
see father again!” 

James put his left arm around Harry. 

“Cheer up, Harry! Don’t take it so hard. Believe 
me, when I honestly say, that I don’t think your 
father was seriously punished. The captain, if he is 
anything of a man, must appreciate such nobility as 
he exhibited, and treat him all the better for it.” 

At this moment Susannah came out to call James 
to dinner, and Harry went home to tell the story to 
his mother. It was heart-rending to Mrs. Macy also, 
but after a while her faith in God brought her some 
comfort, and helped her to comfort Harry by the hope 
that God would take care of his father. 

James made many friends in his short stay on 
Nantucket. He was bright and intelligent, and could 
repeat the opinions of the prominent men he met, as 
he journeyed up from Baltimore. He was also very 
social, with agreeable manners, and was in every way 


The Leopard and the Chesapeake 


47 


worthy of respect and confidence. But in a few days 
Captains Bunker had put in new masts and spars, and 
had patched up his riddled sails, and James went 
aboard and sailed away to his home in Portland. He 
did not return to Nantucket, but this was the begin- 
ning of a close and valuable friendship between him 
and Harry, when a few years later they met again 
and became companions in labor and hardship. 

These events were of tremendous importance to 
Harry Macy. They made him think and feel. They 
gave him a deep sense of the injustice inflicted on 
him, and his family, and upon thousands of other 
families. He resolved to be a man, to take his father's 
place in supporting the family, and when he was 
older, he would stand with the men of America in 
demanding justice from England. 

Meantime he heard the men of Nantucket talking 
about the situation. They expected war would follow, 
but they were astounded at the patience of the Presi- 
dent. He did not call Congress together until October, 
on the plea that Washington was an unhealthy place 
in summer. He issued a proclamation, long and 
tedious. He sent Dr. Bullus to England to demand 
the restoration of the men, and heavy damages, and 
the removal of Berkeley. He ordered the gunboats 
to be put into commission, and the governor of each 
state was ordered to call out and equip its quota of 
one hundred thousand men. 


48 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


In fact, the President knew that the country was 
not prepared for war, and that England was ready 
and willing to try the issue, and so he waited for the 
war fever to subside before Congress came together, 
But the people felt that this was an inadequate re- 
sponse to the demands of the situation, and that war 
must be the final method of compelling the English 
government to respect the rights of American seamen 
and American commerce. 


CHAPTER V. 

A Tempting Proposition. 

When William Macy returned to the deck of the 
Tigress he knew what hardship and cruelty he must 
endure, because he had more than once witnessed such 
dreadful scenes, and had heard many tales of the lash 
on other ships. Almost unlimited power over the 
lives of the seamen was given to the captain of an 
English warship. A man who claimed to be an Ameri- 
can, and who hated the English flag and service, and 
who had been retaken after deserting, would live under 
suspicion. If the lieutenants and petty officers held 
a spite against him, and laid all the most arduous and 
unpleasant or dangerous work upon him, there was 
no redress. There was no easy way of making com- 
plaint to the captain, or hope of his giving it any 
attention if it reached him. If a sailor grew sullen, 
cruel punishment would be his portion, and if he died 
under the lash, no officer would be called to account 
for it. Perfect obedience alone prevented the narrow 
confines of a ship, less than two hundred feet long 
and sixty feet wide, from becoming a prison, and the 
life aboard a wretched slavery. 

With this dreary prospect before him, William 
Macy consented to undergo it, because it seemed to 
49 


50 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


be his duty to rescue these boys from a cruel life, 
and to make Mrs. Starbuck’s last years a little happier. 
He thought of some days in his own youth, when she 
had helped to make a man of him, and this seemed 
to be the time and way, hard though it was, to show 
his gratitude, and he was buoyed up by the feeling of 
security about his family. Captain Starbuck would 
provide for them till Harry was grown, or until he 
returned. If he never saw them again, they would 
not suffer want, for he could trust them with the 
captain. 

For a while all went well with them. They missed 
their father, and Mrs. Macy was very sad when she 
thought about his hard lot on shipboard. But Nan- 
tucket women were used to the absence of their men, 
and bravely bore their lonely life, when their husbands 
were at sea for years at a time. Mr. Macy’s case was 
far worse than the ordinary absence, but she hoped 
for the best, and tried to be cheerful in her trial, and 
felt uplifted by a far greater respect for her husband, 
because he had shown such manliness. 

Harry went to school, and studied hard. He went 
clamming in the early morning, if the tide was low, 
and sometimes had a chance to fish. The money his 
father left was enough to provide for their meager 
wants all through that year and in the winter. Captain 
Starbuck came to see them, and often brought them a 


A Tempting Proposition 


51 


bluefish or a quarter of mutton, but Mrs. Macy assured 
him that they were in no need of help at present. 

If those easy times had continued, these chronicles 
of Harry Macy’s growth and adventures would never 
have been written, for there would have been nothing 
unusual to relate. In all probability, Harry would 
have grown up taking life easily, as thousands of boys 
in good circumstances do. His life would have been 
useful, but uneventful. If he had not felt the pangs of 
hunger, and his old clothes, worn thin by a boy’s rough 
usage, had not let the cold wintry winds bite his arms 
and legs, and if his proud spirit had not felt the sting 
of poverty, then he would have had little incentive 
to work hard, and by doing so to develop all the 
powers of his mind and body, so as to make the most 
of what was in him. 

Then the daily sufferings of his mother and sisters 
and brothers awakened his sympathy for other people, 
and aroused that strong sense of injustice, and that 
passion for independence and for the protection of 
the common rights of the people, which grew with his 
years and became the pervading and guiding spirit 
of his life. 

It is often in the school of hardship that strong 
characters are developed. It is there that ambition is 
awakened. It is necessity which sharpens the wits. 
Necessity compels effort, and effort develops and 
perfects strength. In time, strength is recognized and 


52 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


gains respect and confidence, and leads to place and 
power and larger usefulness. 

When the winters are severe the harbor at Nan- 
tucket becomes closed by ice, and great cakes of it 
are piled up along the shore. At this period no mails 
were received in the middle of winter, and the little 
island was entirely shut off from communication with 
the rest of the world. These weeks of seculsion were 
often made a little brighter by social gatherings, and 
some original entertainments. The islanders called 
these times their trumpery days. They made an 
effort to forget their troubles, and to laugh over their 
discomforts, and to make the best of their hard lot. 

It was on one of these cold, foggy nights in Febru- 
ary that Captain Starbuck joined a merry party, which 
invaded the house of Sarah Macy, bringing baskets 
of good things to eat and a gallon or two of cider. 
There was much fun and good cheer and singing and 
story-telling, and the family were heartened up by the 
sympathy of their neighbors. 

The next day Captain Starbuck was suffering with 
a cold, then his lungs were sore, and rapidly he grew 
worse with double pneumonia. In three weeks he 
passed away, leaving his wife prostrated with grief, 
and worn out by taking care of him. Misfortunes 
followed rapidly. Tom, the only son, instead of be- 
coming a staff and comfort to his mother, showed his 
depraved tastes, and the instability of his character, 


A Tempting Proposition 


53 


by abusing the new freedom which followed his 
father’s death. He spent his time with some of the 
worst men on the island, and then fled with them to 
the coast, when their wickedness became known. Mrs. 
Starbuck had tried in every way to lead him to do 
right, but he refused to obey or to listen to her. When 
he disappeared she sank under her troubles, and in a 
month followed her husband to the grave. 

Captain Starbuck had named a cousin in Boston 
as his executor, and had left his property in trust until 
his son was twenty-five years of age. There was only 
a verbal agreement with William Macy, and no 
mention of it was made in the will, or any writing 
left by Captain or Mrs. Starbuck. The executor 
declined to make any provision for Mrs. Macy’s relief, 
on the ground that he could not do it legally, and 
might be held liable for any sums he paid her. Just 
as the money was exhausted which her husband had 
given her, Mrs. Macy was left destitute, except for 
such little money she and Harry could earn, in a com- 
munity where every one did their own work. 

With the end of this term Harry’s school days were 
over. Every morning, when the tide was on the ebb 
he raked out clams, or looked for crabs, and ran 
along the beach to pick up drift wood. After break- 
fast he went out to the farms in Quaise, and thought 
himself fortunate when he was hired for a shilling a 
day (sixteen and two-thirds cents). When he could 


54 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


get no work, he would sometimes borrow a horse and 
cart of Levi Coffin, and gather up seaweed along the 
beach, and sell it to some farmer for a few cents a 
load, or take produce in exchange. 

When the fishing was good, and there was no w r ork 
to be done, Harry would get Ikey Coffin or Sam 
Gardner to go with him to Sconset. It was a long 
walk of seven miles, and hard work throwing and haul- 
ing the long line out into the surf, but it paid well, 
for they got a good many bluefish and cod in this way. 

In the summer there was another great storm, and 
Harry went up on the cliff, and watched the great 
billows rolling up on the beach. He was restless to 
be out among them. The sea was his inheritance. 
The blood of sea rovers and sailors was in his veins. 
The salt air filled him with vigor, and the roar of the 
waves was like a voice calling, calling, 

“Come away, and we will bear you to strange lands, 
and give you many adventures.” 

The wind seemed to be lifting him, as if it would 
carry him out to sea. Can you understand such a 
boy’s feelings, when the wild waves and winds were 
drawing him out into the life of freedom and adventure 
on this great mysterious ocean, and his home duties 
were chaining him fast to the land? 

It was on this breezy day that the first great tempt- 
ation came to Harry. He saw from the cliff a sail on 
the horizon, now lifted high on the waves, now 


A Tempting Proposition 


55 


almost out of sight in the trough of the sea. When it 
grew bigger he ran down to Captain Folger’s house, 
and asked him what sloop it was. He said the Jenny 
B. was coming in with a load of wood from Wood’s 
Holl. 

Harry was at the wharf when she made fast, looking 
for a job of unloading the wood. Captain Bunker 
called him aboard to get a letter for his mother. Harry 
hoped it was from his father, but the captain told him 
it was from John Nickerson, his mother’s cousin, and 
that he was fitting out a whaler. Proud of his letter, 
and eager to know what was in it, Harry ran home, 
and waited impatiently while his mother opened and 
read it. She seemed pleased, and then a perplexed 
and a worried look came into her face ; then she threw 
the letter down in dismay and cried out. 

“Oh Harry! I can’t let you go!” 

“What is it mother? Oh! does Captain John want 
me to go with the Bedford Boy?” 

“Yes. He offers to send you as cabin boy. You 
would be gone three years, and I cannot have you go. 
Your father may never come home. If you were lost 
at sea, or captured by the British, I would be left 
forlorn.” 

“Oh mother ! I want to go on a whaler. You know 
it, for that’s what the Nantucket men do. But you 
are a woman and can’t know how much I want to go. 


56 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


I almost feel as if I would never be a man, if I do 
not go on a whaling voyage.’* 

His mother smiled although there were tears in her 
eyes. 

“You are only a boy now. You cannot tell what you 
will want to be when you are a man.” 

“Oh yes, I can. I will be a seaman. I know it now. 
as well as I will know it when I am twenty-one, and 
can choose for myself. You do not know how I feel. 
There is no other life like sea-life, and I will find my 
way to it.” 

“Oh my son! My first-born! You must take your 
father’s place while he is gone. You must not think 
of leaving me now.” 

Then Mrs. Macy threw her apron over her head, and 
sat down by the kitchen table, shaking violently with 
grief and sobbing aloud. Harry knew his mother’s 
tender heart, but he had never sounded its depths, and 
he was much surprised by her unusual agitation and 
sorrow. He knew how bravely she had been bearing 
her accumulating troubles and anxieties, and when, for 
the moment, she had broken down, it revealed how 
keen had been her suffering, and how heavy was the 
burden on her heart. 

Mr. Nickerson had made a fair proposition. He 
offered to advance a small sum on Harry’s wages, and 
to give him a small share in the cargo. If the voyage 


A Tempting Proposition 


57 


was successful, he would bring home a nice little 
sum of money, more than he could earn at home. 

Harry slipped out to tell Ike and Sam about it. 
Then he went down to the wharf to hear what the 
captains would say about the voyage, for he knew they 
would be discussing it. Some of them thought it 
might be a good venture. The vessels were rotting 
at the wharves, while the hated embargo kept them 
from all foreign trade. The risk of capture and loss 
might be placed against the certainty of their drop- 
ping to pieces if they were not used. Others prophesied 
nothing but disaster. The vessel would be captured, 
and the crews impressed on English warships. 

To Harry's delight Martin Hussey was inclined to 
favor the venture. He did not think the English 
would have any ground for seizing a whaler, because 
she would not be engaged in any foreign trade, and 
they would not trouble her crew for they would know 
they were all New England men. The voyage would 
not be an infringement of any of the obnoxious orders 
in council, by which England had blockaded the coast 
of Europe and forbidden trade with French colonies. 

Harry was much encouraged by this, and went 
home to tell his mother what Martin had said, and he 
asked him to come up to the house and talk it over 
with his mother. But all the arguments were of no 
avail. Mrs. Macy refused to let Harry go, saying, she 


58 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


needed his help at home, and she would not let him 
take the risk of being captured by the British. 

Ike and Sam had come back with Harry and they 
hung around on the front steps, listening to Martin’s 
talk as it came through the open window. When he 
went away they whistled to Harry, and he came out. 

“I say it’s a shame your mother won’t let you go,” 
said Ike. “You won’t have another chance like that 
very soon. You may be grown up before another 
whaler goes out. She ought to think of that.” 

“I’d go anyhow if I wus you,” Sam drawled out in 
his lazy way. 

“It’s hard to stay at home. All the men of Nan- 
tucket who are worth their salt have struck their 
whale. Daddy did before he was twenty. If he was 
home he would tell me to go. I know he would. Then 
mother would not object.” 

“I’d go anyhow. You can slip aboard the Jenny B. 
and hide until she’s past Great Point, and Cap. Bunker 
wouldn’t bring you back then.” 

“You wouldn’t have sand enough to do it. You’re 
just talking, Sam Gardner.” 

“I mean what I say. An’ if you don’t go, I’ve a mind 
to slip over to New Bedford, an’ ask your cousin to 
take me, ’stead of you.” 

“Much you’ll do that. I know you wouldn’t ship 
for any three year voyage. But I must clean the fish 


A Tempting Proposition 


59 


for dinner.” Harry went back to the woodshed, and 
the boys went down to the wharf. 

Sam’s suggestion stuck in Harry’s mind, although 
he knew it would be unworthy and selfish to leave his 
mother at such a time to bear all the burden of sup- 
porting the family, and to add to her anxieties. He 
tried again to persuade her to let him go. 

‘'You cannot go, Harry. My mind is made up and 
you cannot convince me it is right for you to go.” 
She answered very decidedly. Then she added. 

“You ought not to ask me. You ought to see that 
it is your duty to stay with me, and that is what your 
father would expect you to do while he is gone, and 
we have little hope of his ever coming home again. 
He told you to be a help to me. You know that.” 

Harry had no reply ready for such a strong state- 
ment of his duty, and he knew it would be of no use 
to try to change his mother’s mind. But it was a 
sore disappoinement, and he was not yet convinced 
that his mother was right. There was so much on his 
side of the argument, that he was not ready to give 
up the chance of going on this voyage. He wanted 
to be alone and think it out; so he slipped away to 
the cliff before the boys came around after dinner. 


CHAPTER VI. 

Harry Stands By The Ship. 

To understand Harry Macy’s feeling and difficulty 
you must remember that he was the descendant of 
seamen, and that the love of the sea was bred in him. 
Then all his early training and environment added 
strength to that natural bent. The tales he heard of 
endurance and daring were sea tales. The high adven- 
tures of his boyish heroes were the mastering of the 
monsters of the deep, and the conquering of the winds 
and waves even in the face of a tempest. No deeds 
of Western frontiermen or rangers could equal those 
conflicts with the titanic forces of nature. The best 
training he could get for a sailor’s life would be on 
a whaling voyage, and it would be like an engineer’s 
license or a scholar’s diploma, to be able to say, when 
he asked for a mate’s place, “I have struck my whale 
in the Pacific ocean.” 

As he sat there on that bright July afternoon, with 
the breeze bringing in the salty air from the ocean, 
and the waves swelling and flashing before him, his 
heart seemed to swell in tumultuous harmony with the 
wild waters below him. He was ready to revolt 
against the hard circumstances, which seemed to be 
fettering his life like iron bands. Why should he not 
60 


Harry Stands by the Ship 


61 


run off and take a place on a ship, as other Nantucket 
boys had done more than once? He would be doing 
more to support the family than by remaining on 
Nantucket. The hateful Embargo had broken up all 
commerce, except a little coast trade. The natural 
business of Nantucket was destroyed, and there was 
no way of earning a steady living there. 

He had not fought his battle out when there was a 
light step behind him, and a basket came down over 
his head, and a girl's voice whispered, 

“Guess, and I'll let you free." 

“It's Ruth Chase I know," Harry answered, jumping 
up and pulling off the basket. 

“You look as troubled as if your ships had all been 
wrecked. What's the trouble, Harry?" 

“That’s about it, Ruth. I feel as if my ships had all 
been wrecked." 

“And you a boy only thirteen years old, and all your 
life before you. That's silly!" 

“I have a grand chance. Cousin John wants me 
to go on a whaler, and mother won't let me go. You 
know what that means to a boy who intends to be a 
sailor. No! You can't know or understand! You 
are only a girl !" 

“And so you are sulking here as if it was not a duty 
for you to stay home with your mother." 

“I’m not sulking." 


62 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Then may be you are thinking about running away, 
and trying to persuade yourself to do that.” 

Harry made no answer, and Ruth saw that her 
shaft had gone home to the mark. She dropped her 
berry basket, and sat down beside him. Harry and 
Ruth had been playmates from the days when they 
began to toddle about, being about the same age in 
years, but in maturity of thought and feeling the girl, 
of course, was older than the boy. 

“I can understand some of the fine things about 
such a voyage. I would love to go down the coast of 
South America and see Rio Janeiro, and Buenos Ayres, 
and sail around Cape Horn and stop at Valpraizo. 
and then sail for months on the great Pacific and 
perhaps stop at some of those islands, as beautiful as 
Paradise. Think of tasting all those luscious southern 
fruits and fresh cocoanuts, and seeing those magnifi- 
cent flowers of the tropics. And then I can imagine 
how splendid it is to fight a great whale, a hundred 
feet long, and get a big cargo of oil, and come home 
with a pocket full of money for your mother.” 

“Well, Ruth, I must say you have more imagination 
than I supposed. You get some of the fine things 
but not all of them by any means. What I’m thinking 
of is learning to sail a big ship, and to be a whaling- 
captain myself. I’d soon get to be a mate after such 
a voyage, and then step up to be a captain.” 

“Your ambition is growing like Jonah’s gourd all 


Harry Stands by the Ship 


63 


in a day. But what if, in the meantime, your mother’s 
heart was broken by the uncertainty, not knowing 
what had become of her boy, and by the anxiety about 
your safety. When you came home in three years, — 
we’ll think you will get back unharmed, — and you find 
your mother in her grave, what will you think of your- 
self then, Harry Macy? 

“Besides there is a practical side to your running 
away. It will be a great disappointment to you. Your 
cousin John won’t take you without your mother’s 
consent, and you will have to go as a stowaway, and 
and you will not be wanted, and will be cursed and 
kicked and get no wages for your labor.” Harry made 
no answer and Ruth went on talking. 

“You remember years ago there was a fishing 
smack on the Banks, and in a gale their mast was 
blown overboard. They hailed their mates in another 
sloop, and asked them to cast anchor and stand by till 
they could come aboard. But instead of helping them, 
the other sloop sailed away, and those poor fellows 
were never heard of again. Now your mother is in a 
storm and she has lost her captain. She has hailed 
your ship, and asked you to stand by till the storm is 
over. If you sail away and leave her to weather the 
gale alone, you will always feel ashamed of it.” 

“You are letting daylight into the dark hold of this 
clipper. How do you get to see things so clearly, 
Ruth?” 


64 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Ruth was not ready to answer this question, for 
she did not care to have Harry know all that was 
hidden in her own mind. But she said, briefly, 

‘'We know each other pretty well, Harry; so it is 
not surprising if I guessed what you were thinking 
about, when I saw you lying there, thinking so 
soberly.” 

“Mother has trouble enough. I will not add to her 
load. I’ll stand by the ship, ’till the storm is over,” 
Harry said as he rose up. “Instead of lying here I 
might be out fishing, and if I had good luck, sell them 
to Captain Bunker to take back to New Bedford. 
Were you going after berries?” 

“Yes and I must go on, and if I find a good many 
I will bring your mother some.” 

“I saw a good many beyond the old Tom Macy 
house, between the little pond and Washing Pond. 
Good luck to you.” 

As Harry stood there looking off at sea, he caught 
a glimpse of some dark object, rising on top of a 
wave and then sinking out of sight. He pointed it out 
to Ruth, and they watched it slowly floating in toward 
the cliff. They went along the cliff, and Harry’s keen 
eyes soon discovered the sharp bow of a boat. He ran 
down to a house on the edge of the village, and bor- 
rowed a glass, and they saw it was an empty boat, 
with just enough water in it to make it ride well. 

Harry was all eagerness to take possession of his 


Harry Stands by the Ship 


65 


lucky find. He ran at the top of his speed to find Ike 
and Sam, and then borrowed a dory, and, hoisting a 
small sail, started out to make sure of his boat, before 
any one else should pick it up. When they came up 
to it they saw that it was of a different shape from 
any Nantucket boat, and the men who had seen much 
of foreign shipping said it looked like the English 
jolly-boats. There was no name on it, only a number 
4 painted on the side. It was thought to be a jolly- 
boat, or an officer’s gig from an English warship, and 
that it had been in the water for some time. Harry 
was called a lucky boy to find it, for it would make a 
good fishing boat, and the three boys could easily 
sail or row it. 

Now Harry went into the business of fishing with 
all his energies, and he got a good string of bluefish 
which he sold to Captain Bunker the day he sailed. 
The boys went out every day, and sailed to and fro, 
rolling and pitching, through the rips, with their 
trolling lines out far astern; or where they saw a 
“slick,” tossing and hauling with great rapidity while 
the boat drifted about. Good fortune seemed to follow 
them, and a good store of dried and salted fish was 
laid up for winter use. Then came the halcyon days 
of August, when the sea was often as still as a pond, 
and the fish refused the most tempting bait, and the 
boys often came in late in the evening, tired and sore 


66 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


from hard rowing when there was no wind to haul 
them in, and without a fish to reward their toil. 

This was discouraging, and although Harry knew 
there would be better fishing later on, he was getting 
down-hearted. One evening a rough sailor, who went 
by the name of Black Dick, saw Harry in the lane and 
asked him to come down on the marsh, for he wanted 
to tell him of a good thing. Black Dick did not bear 
a good reputation, but the worst that Harry knew 
about him was that he drank deep and swore hard, 
and was a smuggler. Since the establishment of the 
long embargo, which the people read backwards and 
called the “O-grab-me act,” smuggling had become 
very common, and so many respectable merchants and 
owners of schooners and sloops engaged in it, that the 
dishonesty of the practice was often forgotten. 

People excused themselves by saying ‘the govern- 
ment has broken up our trade and we must get our 
living by the sea, so we will run in the sugar from 
the West Indies, and the English shoes and cotton 
goods from some small ports in New Brunswick/ 

A good many other people would quietly buy the 
goods which they knew were smuggled and say noth- 
ing about it. So a smuggler was not considered a very 
bad man after all. However Harry’s mother did not 
believe it was right, and had taken pains to talk to 
Harry about it, for she feared he might get mixed up 


Harry Stands by the Ship 


67 


in such shady transactions, when he was old enough 
to ship as a seaman on a coasting vessel. 

It was growing dark, but Harry fearlessly followed 
Dick down to the shore, rather wondering why he 
asked him to go so far out of the village. He under- 
stood the reason for it very soon after the man told 
him to sit down on the beach in sight of Coatue Point. 

“I wouldn’t ask many boys to do this work, fer they 
don’t know how to keep their mouths shet. It’s a good 
thing I’ll tell yer about, an ye’ll git yer share if yer 
promise not to blab. I want yer to swear right now, 
you’ll never say a word to anybody of my talking to 
you or what I say.” 

“All right, Dick. I’ll tell nobody. You can depend 
on me.” 

“That’s good, my boy. Now I tell you what I want 
yer to do. You’ve been over on Coatue many a time 
an you know there’s a little higher place where there’s 
a clump of bushes. It’s about a half a mile up shore.” 

“Yes. I know the place.” 

“Well, I want yer to go over there, and when yer 
see Job’s coffin overhead, yer will show a light out to 
sea. Ye must wait there until ye see a coaster come 
in over the bar. Then ye can git in yer boat, an 
foller her up the harbor, an’ help unload. When she’s 
unloaded we’ll put some sugar, an’ calliker goods in 
yer boat for you to take home, an’ a little barrel of 


68 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


good Jamaky fer yerself, or yer mammy in case of 
sickness.” 

This was a big proposition to Harry. He knew it 
meant comfort for the whole family, and it would 
come in such an easy way. He knew his mother 
wouldn’t approve of it, but perhaps she would take 
the things gladly, like a good many other people did. 
But how could he get away for the night without her 
knowing it? 

Dick kept quiet, letting him think it over for a few 
minutes. 

“What ye say, boy? Is it a go?” 

“I don’t see how I am going to get away from the 
house without my mother knowing it.” 

“Yer are not much of a boy, if ye haven’t learned 
how to slip out of a window after all are a-bed.” 

“I tried that once and got caught. My mother 
would be sure to hear me.” 

“If ye can’t do that much yer haven’t got as much 
sand as I thought. Tell yer mother yer going to stay 
all night with one of the boys.” 

This last proposition opened Harry’s eyes to the 
real character of the business. He had dallied with 
the temptation, thinking it would be such a real help 
to his mother. That seemed to make it not very bad. 
But Harry was a truthful boy, and if he had to begin 
by telling a lie, and go on with what was really a 
dishonest transaction, condemned by the laws of the 


Harry Stands by the Ship 


69 


country, he would have nothing to do with it. 

‘Til keep my word. I will tell no one about this 
business, but I cannot help in it.” 

“What’s that yer say? Are ye a white-livered 
chicken, afraid to be out in the dark?” 

Tm not afraid on sea or land. What is there to 
be afraid of? If this business is right, why don’t you 
sail right in by daylight, and land your goods on the 
wharf?” 

“I asked yer to do this fer ye are a likely boy, and 
ye hev a boat. We are short-handed, and want some 
un to do this. If I’d knowed ye were such a little 
saint I’d hev asked a smarter lad. Ye can trot home 
to yer mammy, an’ if ye find yer boat missin’ tomorrow, 
mebbe ye’ll wish ye’d had more sense.” 

This time Harry was scared, but he was shrewd 
enough to say nothing. He jumped up out of reach 
of Black Dick’s long arms, and ran back toward 
town. A curse and muttered sentence, “Take that,” 
warned him to dodge, and he luckily avoided a good 
sized stone which flew past him. He ran home and 
told his mother he thought his boat was not safe, that 
he wanted to hide it. So he got in and softly paddled 
in the shadows along the bay shore, until he reached 
a little cove on the swampy, south shore, beyond the 
village. Here he pulled it out among the bushes, and 
up above the reach of the tide. He was a happy boy 


70 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


the next morning, when lie found it just where he put 

it. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Robbed by Napoleon. 

Discouraging days followed, and with all his 
searching Harry could find little work. He heard that 
men were needed in the hay fields in Massachusetts, 
and that later there would be a good corn crop and 
that the apple trees were loaded with fruit. He talked 
about it with his mother, and she consented to his 
going over to New Bedford to ask her cousin to help 
him find work. He sent him out to a farm back of 
New Bedford. The man was a hard working farmer, 
whose son was sick, and there was more work than 
one man could do. He was a driver, but not unkind. 
He called Harry at four o’clock, and before breakfast 
he helped to feed the stock and curry the horses, and 
also milked three of the six cows. All day long he 
worked in the hayfield and when that crop was gath- 
ered, they went into the corn field, topping the stalks 
and stripping the leaves. Then there were potatoes to 
dig, apples to pick, and corn 'to husk. When Thanks- 
giving Day came the work was done, and Harry 
received his scanty wages and went back to New 
Bedford. 

John Nickerson was pleased with the lad’s diligence 
and efficiency. He questioned him about his education 

71 


72 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


and took him into his warehouse. He was to do the 
chores in the family and a porter’s work in the ware- 
house, and have his board and two dollars a week. 
Harry thought that was a good offer, and was glad to 
take the place as a beginning, for he wanted to be a 
shipping clerk; so he studied at night, practiced writ- 
ing, and while he was rolling barrels or piling up 
boxes, he made up sums of multiplying and adding 
them up, or computing the value of their contents. 

Harry sent his mother twenty-five dollars, and she 
wrote him to buy himself some cloth and have a warm 
suit of clothes made for the winter. Harry had some 
new ideas about using his money. He heard his cou- 
sin and the other merchants talk about the repeal of 
the embargo, and the revival of commerce. So Harry 
asked Mrs. Nickerson if his old suit would do if it 
was mended up. She laughed a little at the boy’s 
shrewdness, and offered to fix it up for him, and made 
it look fairly well. 

As the spring of 1809 advanced the prospect of the 
embargo being lifted grew brighter. Then came news 
of favorable negotiations with the English agent in 
Washington. June 10th the President issued a proc- 
lamation that the embargo was lifted so far as to 
permit trading with England and her colonies. This 
was a great relief to the merchants, and ships were 
being scraped and refitted for early use. 

Captain Nickerson had not waited for the news. He 


Robbed by Napoleon 


73 


had obtained private information of what was coming, 
and had his brig, the Ellen N., all ready early in May, 
and he bought up a good cargo before prices advanced. 
Harry caught the speculative fever, and took all his 
money, and bought a small stock of produce, which he 
stowed away fn the hold. When the first news of the 
proclamation was received the brig weighed anchor, 
and Harry was sent along as purser's clerk. She was 
not molested, landed her cargo at Liverpool, and it 
was sold at a good profit. Then she was reloaded with 
the manufactures of English cotton mills, factories and 
foundries. Harry bought a good many boxes of shoes 
with his money. 

Late in September the Ellen N. dropped anchor in 
Buzzard Bay. There was work for Harry for a few 
weeks in the warehouse, and he was now promoted to 
be shipping clerk. He sold out his boxes of shoes at 
a good price, and his profit on his venture was a little 
over one hundred dollars. Captain Nickerson was 
very much pleased with his faculty for business, and 
said he would give him another chance if the open 
trade continued. The opportunity, however, did not 
come, for the English government repudiated the 
agreement which Mr. Erskine, her agent, had made, 
and the act of Non-intercourse with England was 
again in force. 

Harry had a chance to go home for a few days with 
Captain Bunker, who took out some supplies much 


74 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


needed on the island. He found his mother well, and 
the children growing, and as needy as ever, and they 
were happy over the shoes he brought them. He gave 
his mother money enough for their winter clothes, but 
she would not take all he offered her. 

“Ned gets our food for us, clams and fish and meal. 
You must buy yourself some warm clothes this 
winter.” 

“I am going to work in the cornfields, and I will 
make enough for all that I need for myself.” 

“Take the rest of your money to Cousin John, and 
perhaps you will get another chance to trade with it.” 

“Well, if you don’t need it, I will do that, mother. 
Where is Ruth Chase? I have not seen her anywhere 
and their house is shut up.” 

“Don’t you know, Harry, that they have all moved 
out west, oh ever so far, clear out to Ohio.” 

“I want to know! When did they go? I’ve heard 
nothing of it.” 

“It was in the spring, just after you sailed for 
Liverpool. That’s why you did not see them when 
they were in New Bedford, and we forgot to tell you 
when you came home.” 

“What took Captain Chase out there, so far from the 
ocean ?” 

“He got discouraged about there being any more 
money to be made in merchant ships or the coast trade. 
He said it was too risky, and as he had a good family 


Robbed by Napoleon 


75 


of boys to provide for, he cal’lated he ought to get 
enough land for each of them to have a farm. So he 
moved out to Ohio in the spring. We haven’t heard 
from them since. Ruth hated to go, and she was 
sorry to not see you again. I reckon she’s a home- 
sick girl by this time.” 

“Of course she is, for she loved the sea, and she was 
happy on the island. I will miss her, mother. She 
and I were good chums. She had such good common 
sense, and she used to talk to me like a sister would.” 

“I hope they will do well on a farm, and not be 
sick. I should think they would miss the ocean, and 
the fish and the sea air. They must feel shut in among 
all those big trees out west.” 

It was as Harry said, he missed Ruth, and the 
island did not seem the same to him. He got Ike and 
Sam and Ned in the boat, and went fishing one day 
with good success. But the next day the Jennie B. 
sailed, and Harry was glad to get away again. He 
did not find work until he had walked up the Connecti- 
cut valley to the borders of New Hampshire. There 
he found Samuel Jones with a large farm, and many 
acres in corn on the rich bottom land. There were 
many dairy farms among hills, owned by prosperous 
farmers with large families. 

Harry found it a good neighborhood to live in, and 
made friends among the young people. Farmer Jones 
had two sons older than Harry, and of the daughters, 


76 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


one was older than her brothers, and the other was 
about Harry’s age. A mile away the widow Gerry 
lived, whose farm was worked by her two sons, one 
seventeen, and the other fifteen years old. These two 
boys were having a hard struggle to make a living 
on a hilly farm, and Harry felt a warm sympathy for 
them. 

Harry worked for farmer Jones until nearly Christ- 
mas, and would have gladly stayed all winter, if there 
had been work for him; for he not only enjoyed the 
young people, but he liked his employer. Samuel 
Jones was a man of large brain, who kept himself well 
informed of what was going on in the world. He took 
a weekly Boston paper, and what he read he thought 
over, remembered, and talked about in his family. 
There were long evenings of corn-husking in the barn, 
when the work was lightened by his discussions of the 
great events that were taking place in Europe, and the 
distress they were causing our own people. 

Harry began to understand better the character and 
career of Napoleon. Mr. Jones showed how he was 
exhausting the resources of France, and killing off her 
strong men. Soon or late his overgrown empire would 
fall to pieces, and the nations he had conquered would 
re-establish their own forms of national government. 
He believed Napoleon’s policy was selfish, dictated by 
personal ambition. On the other hand, England 
although oppressive and tyrannical in her foreign 


Robbed by Napoleon 


77 


relations, was slowly working out the problems of true 
liberty and constitutional government. England was 
now fighting Napoleon for her very life, and was 
using every weapon that came to her hand, and 
blockading Napoleon’s ports and cutting off his sup- 
plies was one of her most effective weapons against 
him. When Napoleon’s schemes failed, then, in all 
probability, we might expect England to come to 
some reasonable and honorable agreement with us 
about our sear^en and our foreign trade. 

Harry had suffered so much from the English 
oppressions that he could make a pretty fair statement 
of the grievances of the American people. “They have 
been patient with England, but their patience is 
wearing out,” he said. “How long must we be poor, 
and our sailors be slaves? It may be a good many 
years before Napoleon is conquered. He wants us to 
join him in fighting England, and it may be that 
self-preservation vfill compel us to do so. We are not 
strong enough to fight England on the ocean without 
help. If we take advantage of the present difficulties 
she is in, we can force her to treat us justly, to let us 
alone in our foreign trade.” 

The young people had a good many discussions of 
all these matters, and the evening talks, under Mr. 
Jones’ guidance became very instructive. Harry 
learned to distrust Napoleon although he still main- 
tained his hostility to England. If he had adhered to 


78 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


the opinions he formed this winter it would have 
saved him from some loss. 

When the corn was all husked Mr. Jones paid Harry 
his wages, and he left that happy home with great 
regret. He found Captain Nickerson had something 
for him to do, so that he lost little time this winter. 
Captain Nickerson was preparing to ship a second 
cargo to Europe and he wanted Harry to go out 
among the farmers, and contract for their produce. 

He was one of the big merchants of that region, 
who had sent his ships to many ports before England 
and France interfered with American commerce. He 
had also sent out a number of whalers which made 
profitable voyages. He aspired to be known as one of 
the merchant princes of New England, and not only 
to amass a large fortune, but also to give exercise to 
his broad intellectual powers in conducting a great 
business. It was like sitting on pins and needles for 
John Nickerson to go down to his silent warehouse 
every morning, or to walk down to the piers and to 
see his ships dismantled and rotting in idleness. Worse 
still it was to be himself idle, rusting out his splendid 
intellectual faculties in forced inactivity. He felt ready 
to take more risks in his business than he would in 
other times, rather than continue in this dormant 
state. 

Now his correspondents in Washington advised him 
of the feeling there, and the efforts the new president, 


Robbed by Napoleon 


79 


Mr. Madison, was making to open commerce again. 
Napoleon was ready to repeal his decrees if England 
would rescind her orders in council. In fact Napoleon 
had two objects in the proposals he was making: he 
wanted to embroil the United States with Englandj 
so that she would go to war, and in that way assist 
him in his movements: and he needed the supplies 
America could furnish, corn, wheat, fish and salted 
meats, to replenish the empty store-houses of France. 
So he pursued a crafty course in negotiating with the 
American minister at Paris, and word came back to 
the United States, that American ships might safely 
enter the ports of Holland, France, Spain and Italy 
In Congress the Macon No. 2 Bill was under discus- 
sion, which repealed the non-importation act, and re- 
stored trade with France and England, and provided 
that if either power repealed their orders or decrees, 
the United States would suspend trade with the other. 

Captain Nickerson did not delay his preparations 
until the bill passed, feeling sure of the result. He had 
formerly shipped to Spain, and he now made ready a 
large and heavily laden ship for the port of San Sabas- 
tian. The brig was being refitted at a considerable 
expense. Harry was a shrewd buyer, and Captain 
Nickerson sent him out through Massachusetts, and 
even into New Hampshire and Vermont, to buy up 
cheese, pork, potatoes and butter. 

Harry reached Samuel Jones’ house about the middle 


80 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


of January. He posted up notices in the blacksmith 
shop and Post-office, and then went out among the 
farmers. The prices he was instructed to offer were 
not high, but fair ; but a time limit was fixed, for when 
the cargo was completed there would be no demand, 
and any produce brought in afterward would not bring 
very much from other merchants. 

Harry talked the matter over with the Gerry boys 
and urged them to make up a load. 

“Remember boys. You must start very soon. If 
you get there after the ship is full you will not be 
able to sell your stuff.” 

The Jones boys and other families made up ten loads, 
and pulled up at a New Bedford tavern the night after 
Harry returned. Captain Nickerson bought their 
loads at the prices he had offered. Long lines of 
wagons were waiting every day now, and many men 
were busy, rolling the barrels and firkins aboard, and 
lowering them into the hold. Much grain also had 
already been stowed away below. Will Jones said to 
Harry, 

“The Gerry’s are coming, but one of their horses 
was sick so they could not start with us.” 

“I hope they will get here before the time expires, 
for so much produce is coming in that there will be 
no room for any after the date which Cousin John 
fixed.” 

The days slipped by, and Captain Nickerson sent 


Robbed by Napoleon 


81 


out word that his ship was full, and that after the day 
fixed he would take no more produce of any kind. Two 
days after the period had expired the Gerry boys 
arrived with two wagon loads of grain and pork and 
ten firkins of butter and three cheeses. Captain 
Nickerson was very busy getting the brig ready to 
sail, and Harry was helping the purser close up his 
accounts. The captain refused to buy, telling them 
Harry had fully warned them they must be on hand, 
and that his ship was loaded, and there was no room 
in the hold for more. 

The boys were very much disappointed, and Harry 
was distressed about it, but he told them they had no 
cause to blame his cousin. He went with them to 
other merchants, but no one wanted to buy, for several 
wagons had come in too late and the owners had sold 
out their loads at a sacrifice. The boys only received 
one offer, and that was such a low price that they 
said they would rather drive to Boston than to take 
almost nothing. 

Finally Captain Nickerson took their butter and 
cheese, and then the boys offered the rest of their stock 
to Harry at considerable less than the price in January. 
He consulted his cousin about it, and he said, 

“Well I’m sorry for them, and if you want to buy 
their loads, I will find a place for the stuff aboard ship. 
Have you got the money for it?” 


82 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“I have fifty dollars, and the loads will come to 
sixty.” 

“Offer them fifty. They will take it. I thought you 
had decided not to make a venture on this voyage.” 

“I do not really think it is safe. I cannot trust 
Napoleon to keep his word. But I am so sorry for 
these boys, who have a hard row to hoe, that I am 
willing to buy their stock and put it in. Will you 
lend me the other ten dollars?” 

“Oh yes! I’ll do that, and I hope you will more 
than double your money. But you ought not to do 
this out of sympathy for them against your judgment. 
That is a poor way of doing business, and leads to 
loss.” 

“I’m a poor boy myself, and other people have 
helped me. I must help these boys. I would rather 
never make money than not to be able to help others 
in distress.” 

“Well, do as you please about it. Get the money 
from Mr. Eldridge.” 

Harry bought the loads, and the boys carried it to 
the hatchway. Two days later the Ellen N. sailed 
for San Sebastian in Spain. She was spoken on the 
way by several vessels, and then no news from her 
arrived, and the weeks dragged into months to those 
who were anxiously waiting to hear of her safe arrival. 

By and by rumors of trouble began to multiply, and 
Captain Nickerson, and hundreds of other merchants 


Robbed by Napoleon 


83 


and ship owners, began to be harassed by anxiety as 
to the fate of their ships. Then came definite news 
that ships in Holland and French ports were being 
seized, and the cargoes and vessels sold. Vessels that 
sailed for the Baltic met a similar reception. Still no 
word came from the Ellen N. and despair alternated 
with hope. Finally they heard from Washington, that 
Napoleon had confiscated all the vessels and their 
cargoes, which came into the ports of France and her 
allies, before May 1st, when by the adoption of the 
Macon Bill Non-intercourse had been repealed. His 
reason for this outrageous betrayal of American confi- 
dence was, that French ships were not allowed to 
enter American ports before that date. He wanted 
the goods and the money and took them from a 
friendly people. The loss to American merchants and 
ship owners amounted to more than ten million dollars. 
Ruin stared them in the face, and many of them failed. 
Captain Nickerson found himself in bad shape. He 
had borrowed large sums to buy up the cargo, and 
his creditors pressed him to take up his notes. This 
was impossible, and he was obliged to make the best 
arrangements he could. He pulled through without 
failing, but it crippled him financially for several 
years. 

Harry had gone home in the spring, and was busy 
again with his fish lines, for there was no other work 
open for him that spring. When he heard of the loss 


84 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


of the brig and cargo, he came to New Bedford to get 
the full account of it from Captain Nickerson. He 
was very much discouraged when he knew certainly 
that his money was lost. Napoleon had robbed him 
and thousands of others like him. So many interests 
in New England were affected by it, that it turned 
public opinion once more to favor England rather than 
France. So when continued oppressions by English 
ships revived the war feeling, it did not receive much 
encouragement in New England. This was one reason 
why the people there were averse to the war of 1812 . 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Enlistment. 

Harry did not go back home for there was nothing 
for a young man to do there. He saw more clearly 
than ever that he must not only work hard to support 
his mother and the family, but that he must have all 
his wits about him to find some paying job. His broth- 
ers and sisters were growing fast, and, of course, they 
would eat more and need more clothing. He still 
thought of doing farm work, for he had by this time 
learned how to do all kinds of work done on farms, 
and he prided himself on his skill and quickness and 
strength. 

But he could find no work on a farm although he 
walked far and made every effort to get a job. The 
farmers were not planting more than they could con- 
sume at home, for there was no market for surplus 
crops. They were putting their farms into grass land, 
and buying cattle and sheep. Harry did not under- 
stand the reason for this until he reached Samuel 
Jones’ farm and talked with him. 

“You see, Harry, that we Americans have been put- 
ting our capital into ships, and making lots of money 
out of commerce. We have been sending raw products 
abroad, and buying the manufactured goods in Eng- 

85 


86 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


land. That has been making England rich. Now 
England has broken up our commerce, and our mer- 
chants have discovered that the time has come to 
make up our wool and cotton into cloth, and our hides 
into shoes, and our trees into furniture, and our iron 
into machinery. Therefore they are encouraging the 
raising of more cattle and sheep, and they are building 
the mills and factories to use the products of our soil 
and our mines. In a few years English mills will have 
lost a large part of their custom, and England will 
discover what a serious mistake she has made in 
destroying our shipping trade. If, instead of putting 
your money into that cargo, you had bought a flock of 
twenty sheep, and sent them over to feed on the 
Nantucket commons, it would have paid you as much 
money as you hoped to make by your shipment to 
Spain.” 

“I see it now but hadn’t foresight to see it last 
January.” 

“ 'Hindsight is better than foresight, but it costs 
more,’ as we say up here.” 

“I’m not sorry I bought the loads the Gerry boys 
brought down. I did not want them to lose by their 
trip.” 

“It was not your fault. It was their misfortune they 
were late, as their horse would have been killed if they 
had over-driven him in that cold weather. But may be 
there will come some good to you out of this loss. 


Enlistment 


87 


Now I would advise you to go down to the places 
where they are building factories, and get work in a 
mill.” 

Harry went back to New Bedford, and told his 
cousin what he had observed and learned. 

“It is all true but I have been slow to believe it. 
When I can recover from my losses, I will give my 
mind to manufacturing at home, instead of importing 
French and English goods. You will not have to go 
far to find work. Over west of here on Fall River is 
a village they call Troy, where they have a fine water 
power. They have some mills there now, and are 
building more. I will take you over in my chaise and 
you will be sure to get a good job, and I will look into 
the business for myself.” 

Harry was taken into a woolen mill, and given a 
loom, at fair wages. He remained there about' a year, 
and would have been made a foreman at the end of 
another year. He did not like the confinement, and 
knew it was sapping his strength. The sea-bred boy 
longed for the salt air of the ocean, and the out-of- 
door life on a ship. So he left the mill, and went down 
to Newport, hoping to go before the mast on a coaster. 
No chance offered for getting on a crew, and he found 
a place in a shipyard where some sloops were being 
repaired. 

Here in January 1812 came a young naval officer 
looking for men to repair his gunboats. The foreman 


88 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


took him about the yard, showing him the work under 
way. Harry Macy saw the handsome officer coming 
towards him, and was at once attracted by his easy, 
graceful carriage and his clear low-toned voice. He 
had a slender figure, well-knit and strong, and Harry 
thought he was about ten years older than himself. 
He seemed to know all about building ships, as his 
conversation with the foreman showed while they 
stood near Harry, looking at the sloop on the stays. 
When they passed on Harry asked his mate on the 
job, 

“Who is that officer?” 

“I never saw him before. He is a lieutenant by his 
ornaments I reckon. Must be on the gunboats.” 

“He is a man of force and knows his business. I 
never saw so fine a man. I’d like to sail on his ship.” 

“He seems to be looking for men and you may have 
a chance to enlist if you want to. But I would not 
care for a gunboat. Here he comes again. Put your 
best foot forward now.” 

This time the foreman called Harry, and introduced 
him to Lieutenant Perry. 

“You look like a sea man,” said Perry. “Where are 
you from ?” * 

Nantucket, sir.” 

“Good. You were almost born on the water, and of 
course you have lived on it. How old are you?” 

“Seventeen, sir.” 



“YOU LOOK LIKE A SEAMAK,” SAID PERRY 

























r- 
























■* 
















-i ** 



















Enlistment 


89 


“Have you made any voyages?” 

“Several on coasters to the mainland and back, and 
one to liverpool as purser’s clerk on a merchant brig. 
But I know all about ships.” 

“I want men to repair the gunboats under my com- 
mand, and I hear good accounts of you. Will you 
enlist for a year?” 

“Tell me about the service, sir.” 

Lieutenant Perry then described the defensive duties 
of the fleet of gunboats, which he commanded at the 
Newport station. Harry thought he would like to have 
a part in defending the villages and coasting vessels, 
and he admired the young commander more as he 
talked with him. That evening he went down to the 
recruiting office, and signed the roll, and took the oath 
of service. This may appear to be a hasty and impul- 
sive act, but, in fact, it was something Harry had been 
thinking about, and he came to an earlier decision to 
join the navy, which he had expected to do if war was 
declared. 

The nation was slowly drifting into war with Eng- 
land, because she refused to make reparation for the 
outrage on the Chesapeake, or to come to an agree- 
ment to stop the impressment of American seamen. 
The courageous conduct of Commodore Rodgers in 
replying to the fire of the Little Belt, and the damage 
he inflicted on that English ship, created an intense 
excitement all over the country, and caused a great 


90 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


deal of satisfaction. Resistance to English oppression 
was an almost universal sentiment. “From this time 
on let us take every American sailor from the deck 
of the English ships,” became a popular demand. 
Harry Macy, like many others, had no trust in Napo- 
leon, yet he was willing to seize the opportunity of 
inflicting a blow on England which would compel 
her to do justice to our own country. 

But there was another cause which contributed to 
this conclusion in Harry’s mind, in which he had lately 
come into sympathy with many other people. He had 
known little about the west, and cared very little for 
its people and its interests. But now since Captain 
Chase had moved out to Ohio and Ruth was living 
there, he begain to realize that thousands of other 
people had friends out there. When Tecumtha was 
gathering the savage Indians together, and threatening 
to burn the villages and murder the settlers, and the 
old stories of horrible Indian raids were told again, it 
began to touch Nantucket people closely. And Harry 
felt that his friends were on the danger line. And now 
General Harrison, the old Indian fighter and the 
governor of Indiana territory, in his negotiations with 
the Indians had discovered that the English agents 
were tampering with the Indians again, as they had 
done so many times before. They still wanted Detroit 
and the fur country, and were aiming at making a new 


Enlistment 


91 


boundary line, that would restore much of the terri- 
tory they had lost. 

At the end of the year 1811, came the news that 
Harrison had defeated the Indians at Tippecanoe, and 
that Tecumtha had gone up into Canada with his 
warriors. The settlers were safe for the present, but 
Tecumtha was more hostile than before, and deter- 
mined to wipe out the disgrace of that defeat, which 
took place during his absence in the south. Who could 
tell how soon he would return with his hordes of 
blood-thirsty warriors, and sweep through the forests 
with fire and scalping knife? So the Indian troubles 
increased the distrust of England, and the war feeling 
grew. A congress was elected that fall, and the people 
sent the men to Washington who were known to 
favor making a stand against England, even if it 
should result in war. Henry Clay’s election as 
Speaker revealed the strong majority for war measures, 
and John C. Calhoun’s able speeches supported them. 
They were the strong and popular leaders, who were 
resolved that England should no longer be permitted 
to lay her oppressive hand on the people of the United 
States, or on their commerce. 

Harry Macy was at once enrolled in the crew of 
Gunboat 44, and received his uniform. He was given 
the work of laying a new floor on the gun deck, with 
three men to assist him. After this was done, he 
made a new boom and gaff, and then was ordered to 


92 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


overhaul the rigging. He proved to be such a careful 
and rapid workman, that he was detailed for a few 
weeks to push the repairs on two other sloops. 

His sailing-master was Stephen Champlin, a young 
man only twenty-three years old. He had been a 
seaman seven years, and had been in command of a 
merchant vessel from Norwich the year before. Harry 
soon perceived that he was a good seaman, and he 
was glad to have a capable commander, under whose 
instructions he would learn how to sail a vessel in all 
weathers. 

It was in the middle of January, after a day of cold 
drizzle and mist, when it came on to blow from the 
northeast. Then it grew still colder, the rain turned 
to snow, and the rigging of the schooner was covered 
with ice. Sailing-master Champlin had been off 
Sachuset Point, taking soundings, and seeing that the 
storm would be a severe one and might end in a gale, 
he bore away and ran into the main entrance of Narra- 
gansett Bay, and came to anchor in the sheltered har- 
bor off Newport. Harry was in the top, furling the 
topsail, when he heard a new voice below, which 
seemed familiar to him. 

“Main top there. Loose the gaff and lower the 
mainsail.” 

Harry looked below, and saw a tall young fellow 
who had just come aboard, standing by the side of 
Master Champlin. 


Enlistment 


93 


“Aye! Aye, Sir!” Harry answered. Knowing they 
were to have a new boatswain he thought this must be 
the man. The rigging was frozen, and it required 
beating and hard pulling to loosen the knots, and it 
was some time before Harry and the other man could 
clew up the topsail, and tie up the gaskets. Then 
they loosed the mainsail and lowered it, and went 
below'. Harry looked at the new man, and said, 

“It’s James Patterson ! Bos’n, do you remember me, 
Harry Macy of Nantucket?” 

“You, Harry Macy? I want to know. You’ve 
grown, boy. You’re a whale of a fellow now. Get to 
work there, men. Step lively. Tie up that mainsail. 
Haul on your braces and make her fast.” 

When all was made fast and the watch set, Harry 
followed James into the fok’sle, and while the boat- 
swain was smoking they found a good deal to 
talk about. James had not forgotten the kind friends 
he made in Nantucket, and after he had asked about 
them, he wanted to hear what Harry had been doing. 
When Harry had told about his enlisting, James said, 
“You are lucky to be under Perry, my lad, even if 
it’s on a gunboat, for he won’t stay here very long. 
When the war opens he will get a fighting ship again, 
and if you do your duty well, he will be likely to take 
you with him. He is a man who sees the stuff in a 
man, and he takes the best for his officers. See the 


94 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


men he picked out for these gunboats, Taylor, Turner, 
Champlin, and Blodgett, his second officer.” 

"And a fine young fellow for a bos’n, I suppose.” 

"None of your chaff, Harry. You know I wan’t 
thinking of myself.” 

"Tell us about your own voyages.” 

"I didn’t go back on the Chesapeake. I’ve been on 
the Revenge, under Perry for two years. We were in 
Commodore Rodgers squadron for some months, 
cruising about between Chesapeake Bay and New 
York, to prevent any more Leopards from bombarding 
our smaller vessels or impressing our seamen. We 
had pretty strict orders to resent any insults, and to 
prevent outrages on American vessels. Then we were 
sent to Charleston and Savannah, to capture privateers 
and to watch the cruisers. But by this time the 
English had grown cautious, and we had no trouble. 
Perhaps they had heard enough of Perry to know 
he would fight hard. But we had one hazardous duty, 
and its a wonder to me we got off without a hard 
fight. It shows that a brave man will always be 
respected, and cowardly fellows will not dare to pro- 
voke him.” 

"Tell us about that.” 

"It was summer time, and hot as blazes down there 
off the Georgia coast. A United States Marshall came 
aboard with a warrant from a federal court to seize the 
Diana. The ship was from my state, up Wiscasset way 


Enlistment 


95 


I believe, but she had been stolen by her ship-master, 
an Englishman whose name was Tibbets. He had 
been sailing about in the West Indies, making money 
for himself, and paid no attention to the orders of 
the owners. He had changed her name to the Angel, 
and she was lying off Amelia Island. 

The Spanish Governor was informed of the facts, 
and had given permission to the Americans to cut 
her out, and to take possession of her for her owners. 
But she was lying under the protection of two English 
war vessels, one a brig and the other a schooner. We 
had fourteen guns and they had about forty, and we 
did not suppose they would let us take her without a 
fight, and it would be a very unequal one. 

But our plucky young commander prepared to obey 
the warrant. He sent for three gunboats from the 
St. Mary’s River, and sailed right in and took posses- 
sion of the Diana, and the English did not fire a gun. 
As the owners wanted to send her to Europe he put 
his own sailing-master on her, and a week later we 
convoyed her off the coast. 

She was hardly on her way out of sight when we 
discovered a British war vessel bearing down on us. 
Lieutenant Perry ordered the ship cleared for action, 
which did not take long, for he was never unprepared 
for any emergency. She soon overhauled us, and came 
about along side, and sent an officer on board to say, 
that she was the Goree, Captain Byng commander, 


96 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


and requested our commander to come aboard and to 
explain the character of his vessel. Lieutenant Perry 
refused to do so. As soon as the boat cast off, he 
prepared to make the best defence he could against the 
larger vessel, if the English captain made an attack. 
Lieutenant Perry decided to grapple, and called the 
crew to quarters, armed them with pike and cutlass, 
and announced that he would lead us in person to the 
enemy’s deck. Our crew was ninety men, and I know 
that with such a cool-headed, courageous commander 
we would have swept the decks of the Goree in a few 
moments and captured her. 

“That must have been an exciting time for you.” 

“Not any foolish excitement or hurry. I never saw 
Lieutenant Perry get excited or lose his head. He 
was just as cool then, as he would be now on deck 
in this snow squall. The men were all in order, every 
man with his weapon and under instructions what to 
do, every officer in his place, and orders all given. I 
don’t know whether the Englishman watched us, and 
saw our preparations, or whether the lieutenant had 
seen that our commander was not to be trifled with. 
In a few minutes he returned with a request, that 
our commander would send an officer to explain the 
character of our ship. As this was what the English 
commander had done, Lieutenant Perry said he would, 
and I was ordered to lower the gig and take Mr. Sin- 
clair over. 


Enlistment 


97 


Soon after that we ran up to New York and joined 
Commodore Rodgers’ squadron. He was ready to 
protect our ships, and to maintain the dignity of our 
flag. Our orders were, if a hostile vessel fired a shot 
at us, we must fire two in return. If a shot struck 
our vessel we must chastise the enemy to the extent 
of our force.” 

“That’s the talk I like,” said Harry. “But how 
did Perry happen to lose the Revenge, when he is such 
a careful sailor?” 

“It wasn’t Perry’s fault and he was exonerated by 
the court of inquiry. It happened in January of last 
year, in that dangerous race at Watch Hill. A fog 
came on, but the pilot said he could take us through. 
I heard Perry tell him to come to anchor if he had 
any doubt about getting us through safely.” 


CHAPTER IX. 


Watching For Hostile Cruisers. 

Patterson’s story of the wreck was interrupted at 
this point by a hail from a boat, and they all turned 
out, and saw Lieutenant Perry in a large boat. 

The boatswain let down the ladder, but the com- 
mander refused to come aboard, and explained to 
Mr. Champlin why he was out in the storm. 

‘‘There’s a fishing-smack ashore on Seal Rock. Men 
were seen clinging to the wreck. They will freeze if 
they are not drowned. I want some more men to help 
get them off. We cannot let them perish without an 
attempt to rescue them.” 

“You ought not to go, Commander.” 

“Some one must go, at once.” 

“Think of your young wife, Oliver.” Mr. Champlin 
said in a low tone, “You come aboard and I will go. 
If there should be any mishap, I can be spared better 
than you.” 

“Thank you, Stephen. I am ready and will go. 
Who goes with me?” 

“I will go, sir/’ said Harry. 

“I am ready,” James added. Two older men volun- 
teered, and in a moment they were in their oilskins 
and sea-boots, and dropped into the barge. The boat 
98 


Watching for Hostile Cruisers 


99 


disappeared in a moment, and was rapidly rowed out 
to the reef, six miles away. The wind had increased, 
and the waves were dashing over the wreck, which 
was going to pieces. 

Perry watched the surf, and when chance offered 
came alongside, and took off the fishermen, who were 
too chilled to help themselves. The barge then re- 
turned as rapidly as possible to Newport, and the men 
were taken to a tavern to be restored. One of them 
seemed almost dead, and James and Harry carried 
him in and laid him on the floor. 

“He’s done for, I reckon,” said Harry bending over 
him. To his surprise the young fellow opened his 
eyes and gasped out, 

“Harry Macy. Give me some drink.” 

“Is it you, Tom Starbuck?” 

“Aye, lad. I’m about dead, and it don’t matter 
much.” 

“You’ll pull through. Keep up your courage. You 
can make more of yourself if you will.” 

“Here don’t talk. Take this,” said the tavern 
keeper. Tom drank the liquor and soon felt better. 

The men went back to their sloops, and Harry saw 
no more of Tom for some time. These were not days 
of idleness, even in the stormy winter. They patrolled 
the coast from Bristol to Point Judith, guarding the 
entrance to Long Island Sound, and of the different 
inlets of Narragansett Bay, and protecting the ships 


100 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


in the harbors, and the villages along the coast. This 
was an important but not exciting task; yet at any 
hour it might bring them into conflict with the English 
cruisers, which could sail in from the open sea in less 
than two hours. Their commander instructed his 
sailing-masters to be always prepared for action, and 
to be vigilant to discover any sail in the offing and to 
warn the villages. Not satisfied with this, he per- 
suaded the merchants to furnish material for a watch 
tower, which he erected on the outermost point of 
Rhode Island, and there he kept a guard. 

The commander also directed, that every crew 
should be constantly and thoroughly practiced in the 
use of the twenty-four pound gun, with which every 
gunboat was armed. And he himself drilled them fre- 
quently, telling the men, ‘that one gun, accurately 
aimed and rapidly fired, would be more efficient than 
a battery of six guns of shorter range. They might 
disable a well-armed schooner, before she could get 
near enough to hull them, if they were perfect in the 
use of this one long range gun.’ 

Perry inspected his boats, and called the men to 
quarters, and drilled them himself in small arms. He 
had a school of instruction for his officers, and re- 
quired them to perfect themselves in their various 
duties. He also made an original use of his squadron 
which was of great value to himself and his officers. 
He was a diligent student of naval tactics and maneu- 


Watching for Hostile Cruisers 


101 


vers, and he made a practical use of the boats to perfect 
his knowledge. He assembled all the twelve gunboats, 
and practiced the maneuvers of sailing a fleet, and 
then dividing them into two squadrons he engaged 
them in sham sea fights. He was quick to perceive 
the crises in these mimic battles, when mistakes 
occurred, or the shifting of the wind exposed one fleet : 
then he took advantage of the change to vary the 
attack or the defense. 

It was late in June when Lieutenant Perry came 
aboard gunboat No. 44, and called the men to quarters. 
“I have two announcements to make/’ he said. “The 
first is that England has at last done one act of justice. 
She has replaced the three men, taken from the Chesa- 
peake, on the deck of that vessel.” 

James Patterson swung his tarpaulin, and the men 
gave three cheers. Then Perry continued, 

“But her action was too late. On the 18th Congress 
declared war on England.” 

The men this time gave three louder cheers, and 
then repeated them. The news was not unexpected, 
but it was followed by many discussions about the 
chance of their commander getting a ship, and their 
own prospects of active service. They heard of the 
glorious victory of the Constitution over the Guerriere, 
but no change in their duty came to them. A Septem- 
ber gale caught them when out on patrol duty, and 
the old mainsail was split by the wind. The next 


102 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


bright day the boatswain had the old canvass brought 
on deck, and set three men to work repairing the 
damage. Harry was sitting on the capstan, splicing 
the ropes which had been frayed, or had parted in the 
gale. 

“Heave up your marlin spike, Harry,” James called 
out. “I can’t get these old stitches loose. They were 
set to stay, like my old granny’s patches on my 
trousers when I was a boy.” 

“Here goes,” Harry replied giving the spike a toss 
which would have given the boatswain a smart rap 
if he had not caught it by the handle. 

“You have a vicious throw, boy,” James said, 
rubbing his hand. 

“I knew you would catch it,” Harry said with a wink 
to old Davy Leggett. “Did you know Lieutenant 
Morris?” Harry asked in a few moments. 

“No. I never saw him. He acted very gallantly 
in the fight off New York, when the Constitution 
whipped the Guerriere. He deserved promotion.” 

“He has made a big step. He has been advanced 
over Perry, and several other officers, who were his 
seniors in grade.” 

“Our commander ought to have got the Adams, and 
no doubt he feels the slight. I suppose Morris had 
some influence in Washington. But generally the 
secretaries pick out the best men, and I should say it 
was right to take them wherever they are, and give 


Watching for Hostile Cruisers 


103 


them the duty they are fitted to do well. But when 
a smart, well-trained and ambitious officer is passed 
over, that is not just.” 

“If our commandant felt hurt he didn’t show any 
jealousy,” Dave Leggett remarked. “I took him up to 
the wharf, when he went to see Lieutenant Morris, 
who was sick, and I know he offered to let him have 
his pick of us for his crew. That’s the way Turner 
and his men were transferred to the Adams.” 

“How did you hear that?” Harry asked. 

“I heard Mr. Champlin tell Mrs. Perry about it.” 

Some new recruits were received to replace these 
men, and they were put under hard drill to bring them 
to the same proficiency as the older members of the 
crew. One day there was a hail from a boat, and the 
boatswain went to the taffrail. 

“Throw me a line. I want to come aboard.” 

“You cannot come aboard without permission of 
the sailing-master.” 

“Ask him then. I want to look about, and perhaps 
I will enlist.” 

“You are pretty brazen about it. Perhaps we don’t 
need you.” 

“I know him. Tom Starbuck,” said Harry, coming 
from below. 

“I reckon we don’t want you.” 

“Say, Harry Macy. You speak a good word for me, 
won’t you?” 


104 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“It won’t suit you, Tom. We are hard working men, 
and we don’t get any days off for skylarking. You 
go back home and keep straight.” 

“I’m not going back to that little sand heap, I can’t 
live there. I want to see the world and to be in the 
stir. My guardian won’t let me have any money, and 
I’m dead broke. I’ve got to ship before the mast.” 

“You can talk to the recruiting officer at the May 
Apple tavern. If he asks me about you, I will not 
recommend you. You better think twice about it 
before you enlist, for I know it will not suit you.” 

Tom could not follow Harry’s advice for his pockets 
were empty, his companions had cast him off when his 
money gave out, and he was hard pushed to get some- 
thing to eat. He succeeded in getting enrolled and 
was sent aboard Master Champlin’s gunboat. James 
was patient with him, and gave him careful instruction 
and oversight, and for awhile Tom kept at his duties 
faithfully. But when he drew his pay he got hold of 
some liquor, and his drinking made him surly, and he 
was put in the brig. Soon after dark when the sloop 
cast anchor in Newport harbor, he escaped from con- 
finement and disappeared. 

The next day a squad was sent out under Harry’s 
command to find him, and after a long search they 
found him in a low tavern, too drunk to know what 
he was doing. Harry hauled him down to the boat, 
and took him on board. He was allowed to sober up 


Watching for Hostile Cruisers 


105 


and then Master Champlin ordered him tied up to the 
mast, and the boatswain to give him twenty lashes. 

That day Lieutenant Perry came aboard, and 
Master Champlin told him that he had been obliged 
to discipline Starbuck. He was sorry for the young 
fellow, and sent for him to come to the cabin. What 
he said to Tom no one knew, but after that interview 
Tom was a different man. He drank no more, and he 
gave attention to his work, and was respectful to the 
officers. Tom was a good sailor, but he knew nothing 
of drill and gun-practice. Now he was anxious to 
learn these important parts of a United States sea- 
man’s duty, and he became responsive to the efforts 
of the boatswain to teach him, and was willing to learn 
from Harry Macy and his other shipmates. 

Late in October Master Champlin was out scouting 
off Seconet Point, for since the war they were con- 
stantly on patrol duty. He spoke gunboat 46 under 
command of Lieutenant Blodgett which was sailing 
west. 

“The glass is falling. We will have a heavy blow. I 
shall keep off the coast and ride it out,” said Champ- 
lin. 

“I have finished my cruise, and must go in for sup- 
plies. I saw no hostile cruisers. I will try to make 
the harbor before the gale strikes me,” Blodgett 
answered. 

The wind blew No. 44 off her course and it was two 


106 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


days before she got back to Narragansett Bay. As 
they sighted Beaver Tail, Harry, who was on the port 
watch, called out, 

“ Wreck on Conanticut Ledge!” 

“Where away?” 

“Off South Point, near the light.” 

“Ay ! Ay ! I see it,” the boatswain replied. The crew 
came out as they heard the call, and they soon made 
out that it was one of their gunboats, and thought it 
must be Blodgett’s. 

The commander soon came aboard to tell them of 
the loss, and to give the orders necessary to continue 
the patrol which No. 46 had performed. 

“Yes, Blodgett’s gone!” he said to Mr. Champlin’s 
inquiry, as he stepped aboard. “I am much distressed 
for he was the ablest of our officers, and we can hardly 
do without him, and he was such a splendid fellow 
that I feel his loss like a brother.” 

“How did it happen? And were all the men lost?” 

“The wind took him off his course. He hauled his 
wind, and began to work back, but No. 46 was a poor 
sailor, and the swell was against her. He beat to 
windward and stood in close to avoid the tide. She 
missed her stays when he would have tacked opposite 
the light-house. He tried again and failed, then tried 
to sheer off, and clear the rocks, but the undertow was 
too strong, and she went broadside on the ledge. The 


Watching for Hostile Cruisers 


107 


sea swept clear over her, and he saw she would soon 
break up.” 

“What did he do? It was fearfully cold. They 
would perish of the cold.” 

“Blodgett did not think of himself but tried to save 
his men. They tried to get him to come off, but he 
stayed aboard to see that the men got planks and 
boards to carry them ashore. The sea was breaking 
over her, and he fell and was washed overboard, and 
no one saw him again. Half the crew were lost. The 
keepers of the light picked up nine of them, more dead 
than alive, and cared for them so that they will recover. 
Some bodies have come ashore, but Blodgett’s has not 
yet been found.” 

“Have you written to the family?” 

“Yes, and perhaps his father will come to search for 
his body. I want to go out again farther along the 
coast, and see if it can be found, but my men are tired 
out with rowing in the surf all day yesterday.” 

“I will give you a crew. Bos’n Patterson will take 
you out. Harry and Tom will go. Tom is making a 
good sailor.” 

“Let them take rations for dinner for we may not 
return before dark.” 

The men volunteered to go and the crew was filled 
out. Perry with his glass searched every inlet, but in 
vain. He could not talk for his heart was oppressed, 
and he did not give up until late in the evening. 


108 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


There was a mild evening as the Indian summer 
came on, and the men were having their evening smoke 
and talk on deck. Tom was in a group at the bow 
where Ben Lake, an old tar, was tatooing an anchor on 
a lad’s arm. Ben’s arms were curiously marked with 
the tools of his craft, and on his chest was a ship in 
full sail. He had tried to get Harry to have his arm 
tatooed, but Harry would have none of it, and now 
Ben was talking eagerly to Tom about his art, as he 
called it. 

“There’s not many can learn it, I paid Jack Manly 
ten bob to larn me. Every Jack knows who he is. He 
done five hundred in his time. You let me do a ship 
on your chest. It will only stand you five dollars an’ 
that’s cheap.” 

“I won’t have any money till pay day. That’s a 
good slice off my wages.” 

“I’ll trust you. An’ if you are lost in a storm yer 
friends will know yer carcass when it comes ashore.” 

Tom and Ben were so interested that they did not 
notice that Lieutenant Perry had come aboard. 
Master Champlin called Tom. 

“Here’s a letter for you which the commander 
brought over.” 

“Thank you, Commander,” said Tom and started 
back. 

‘'Wait a moment, Tom. I am glad to hear such 
good reports of you. Keep on doing your duty, and 


Watching for Hostile Cruisers 


109 


learning to be a good seaman. This war will soon give 
us all active service, and there will be promotions 
for the faithful.” 

“Will you remember me, Commander, when you get 
your ship?” 

“I cannot make any promises, Tom. I am urging 
you to prepare for higher duty, and you may be sure 
that sooner or later it will come to you. One word 
more. Was Ben wanting to tatoo you? 

Don’t let him mark you up. You can never get that 
tatooing out, and in a few years you may be ashamed 
of such folly.” 

“Thank you. Commander, for your kindness to me. 
You got me off the rocks, when I would have frozen 
to death, and you have made a man of me, when I was 
an idle, drinking, good-for-nothing fellow. I will never 
forget your help, and I want to make the most of my- 
self in the service.” 

“That’s good, Tom, but there’s a better ambition 
than that. You want to serve your country with your 
highest ability, wherever she calls you.” 

The commander went back to his flag-schooner, and 
Tom leaned over the gunwale and did some sober 
thinking. 


CHAPTER X. 


An Unexpected Meeting. 

It was on the second day of December, 1812, that 
Master Champlin discovered two square-rigged vessels 
approaching the bay, and ran down for a closer obser- 
vation. If it was an enemy, he wanted to signal the 
guard at the tower; if they were our own ships he 
might give them information. Before long his gun- 
boat was seen by the man in the top, and a signal was 
flown at the masthead. He answered by running up 
his flag and his number. Then the stranger asked if 
English cruisers were near, and Champlin answered 
they had gone east. The frigate then raised the 
American flag, and her own, and Champlin knew she 
was the United States, Stephen Decatur commanding 
her. But it was not until she had sailed into Newport 
harbor that the crew of No. 44 grasped the astounding 
fact, that the second frigate was the English war- 
vessel, Macedonian, which Decatur had captured off 
the Canary Islands on the 25th of October. 

That was such a memorable occasion that Champlin 
relaxed the discipline on board and allowed his men, 
a few at a time to go over to the two vessels. The 
Macedonian had required two weeks hard work of 
repairing after that terrific fight, and Lieutenant 
110 


An Unexpected Meeting 


111 


William H. Allen had been placed in command to 
bring the prize into an American port. The boatswain 
recognized his former officer on the Chesapeake, and 
was one of the first to ask permission to visit her. He 
took Harry Macy with him. They rowed around her, 
and saw the terrible wounds the American guns had 
inflicted on her hull. When they went up the ladder 
one of the first seamen Harry saw was his own 
father, coming down the ratlines ; and so great was 
his surprise that, for a moment he thought his eyes 
deceived him. William Macy noticed the young man 
staring at him and would have turned away, but Harry 
sprang forward, and exclaimed, 

'‘Father, do you not know me?” Macy looked hard 
at him, and then said, 

“Lord! Is it one of my boys? And which one? 
You must be Harry. I wouldn’t know any of you 
after these long years of absence.” 

“Yes, I’m Harry. But how did you come here, 
father?” 

“I’m on my ship, where I’ve been for two years, 
ever since she was launched, and its the biggest piece 
of luck that’s happened to me, to be captured by my 
own countrymen.” 

“Did you fight for the British?” 

“Had to, or be hung or shot. Lord, but we tried 
to get out of it. There were seven of us, and Jack 
Card was our leader. We agreed not to fight our own 


112 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


flag, and we went to Captain Carden and told him so. 
It was no easy job to ask him to let us off, for he 
was the strictest of all our commanders, and some of 
the others were hard enough. You can imagine what 
he said: 

“Get back to your quarters, you cowards. If I hear 
another word like this, I’ll have you shot.” 

As we went back Jack said, he would rather be shot 
by his enemies aboard than by his friends on the 
United States. Poor Card he was killed right here, 
and that’s the stain of some of his blood, when a can- 
non shot split him open.” 

Harry looked at his father, and rejoiced to see that 
he had not been wounded. 

“My lad, how’s your mother and the children? I 
haven’t heard a word since I left you at Nantucket, 
more than five years ago.” 

“All well and getting along. They didn’t starve, al- 
though we never got any help from Captain Star- 
buck, for he died the next winter.” 

Harry now told his father all about that hard 
struggle to live, and something of his own work. Pretty 
soon James Patterson came back, and asked Macy to 
take them over the frigate, and describe the battle. 
It seemed wonderful that the United States had done 
so much damage to her enemy, and had reecived so 
little in return, for the Macedonian was manned by 
one of the best trained crews in the English navy, 


An Unexpected Meeting 


113 


and her officers were brave and skillful. But the 
cause was seen to be in the armament of the United 
States, which was superior to the guns of the Mace- 
donian, and in the masterly gunnery of the American 
crew. Besides, Captain Decatur, as a sailor and 
fighter, had no superior in either the English or Ameri- 
can navy, and that was one of the greatest causes of 
the success. 

While they were going about Mr. Champlin came 
aboard, and Harry introduced his father to his com- 
mander. Mr. Champlin gave Harry permission to 
remain aboard until the next morning. This was a 
happy night for Harry. His father had not become 
corrupted by the English tars on his long service 
away from home, and he had become a very skillful 
seaman. His varied experiences had developed and 
perfected the natural ability of this son of Nantucket 
sailors. 

Mr. Macy told Harry he was going down to Nan- 
tucket as soon as the Macedonian reached New York. 
He had saved his wages, and had more than a hundred 
pounds aboard, when the ship was captured. 

“Did you lose it?” 

“Not a penny. Decatur did not permit any looting. 
The private property of the seamen as well as the offi- 
cers was returned to them.” 

“Did Captain Decatur accept your captain’s sword?” 

“No ! He waved it aside and said, 


114 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


‘Sir, I cannot receive the sword of a man who has 
so bravely defended his ship.’ ” 

“That’s something like what Captain Hull said to 
Captain Dacres when the Guerriere surrendered to the 
Constitution. Hull had met Dacres at Hampton Roads 
or Norfolk and they were talking about their ships, 
and Captain Dacres bet a hat that if ever their ships 
fought one another the Guerriere would capture the 
Constitution. So when Dacres came up the ladder, 
Captain Hull helped him aboard, for he was wounded. 
He presented his sword but Captain Hull answered, 
“I’ll not take a sword from one who knows so well 
how to use it. But I’ll trouble you for that hat.” 

“The English officers who have been so arrogant 
and insulting are learning some lessons in politeness 
and humanity, as well as in seamanship from our 
American officers.” 

“If you get home safe with your money, father, then 
mother will be happy and relieved from care, and I 
can stay in the service. I only enlisted for a year. 
Lieutenant Perry and Master Champlin want me to 
serve through the war. They think I will be promoted, 
and see active service on a good ship; and if we 
capture any ships, that I will get prize money. What 
do you think about my re-enlisting?” 

“My son, I have been a long time absent from my 
family, and by my misfortunes have been deprived of 
a chance to do a father’s duty by you. You have taken 


An Unexpected Meeting 


115 


my place in supporting the family. I don’t claim a 
right or authority to advise you, or to say ‘You shall 
do this or not do that.’ Go ahead, my boy, and do 
what you think is best. You have earned the right to 
decide, and I believe you have learned to act in good 
judgment.” 

“I want to serve under Perry, and if he gets a ship 
I believe he will pick me for one of his crew, and 
make me a gunner’s mate or perhaps a gun captain. 
I have been working for that end, if I do say it myself, 
there is no one on our gunboat who can handle the gun 
quicker, or hit the mark more times than I can. Perry 
knows what his men can do, and I think he has my 
record down.” 

“It seems like this gunboat service has been a good 
drill for you.” 

“Perry has made it so. He has kept up the drill 
and gun-practice, and fleet maneuvers, too, as often 
as the service would permit. He will have a well- 
trained crew when he gets his ship. But he has taught 
us more than that. You can’t be with him without 
catching his spirit. He wants to serve his country, 
and I have learned that from him.” 

“Go ahead, my boy. Do what you feel called to do. 
I am proud of you, although I haven’t helped you any; 
and I’m sure you will not do anything we will regret, 
unless it be that you should be killed, or captured by 
the enemy, and that will not be through any fault of 


116 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


yours. If so be that should happen, it will be a 
sacrifice you lay on the altar of liberty.” 

Neither said any more for a few minutes. Then 
Mr. Macy added, 

“I expect to stay at home until spring, and I will 
leave my money with your mother if I should enlist. 
Allen wants me, and I will get a good place under 
him. He is sure to get a ship. Decatur will see to 
that when we get to New York. And if Perry does not 
get one soon, perhaps I can get you transferred to my 
ship.” 

“It will be a shame if Perry is passed over again, 
and a loss to the country, also, to keep him on this 
station. He will make a name for himself and bring 
glory to our flag, if he meets the enemy with a good 
ship under him.” 

Harry got acquainted with some of the prisoners, 
and was surprised to see so many boys among them, 
and he was told that a number of boys had been killed, 
as they ran back and forth between the decks, carry- 
ing cartridges from the magazine. The stories of the 
terrible slaughter were dreadful to hear. Thirty-six 
had been killed and their bodies were thrown over- 
board, and among them were several fatally wounded 
who were still alive. The number of wounded was so 
great that the cock-pit was crowded with those carried 
below, and there was no room for those whose lives 
could not be saved, and the officers ordered them to 


An Unexpected Meeting 


117 


be thrown into the sea with the dead. This was one 
of the horrors of war in those days. 

One boy who came and talked to Harry was an 
American, who had sailed with Captain Decatur. He 
was not yet thirteen years old, and was full of boyish 
life and spirit. He was a general favorite among the 
men, although he played many jokes upon them, and 
bantered the prisoners, and cut up skylarks in the 
rigging. His name was Jack Creamer. After watch- 
ing him a while Harry asked him, 

“What makes you so jolly ?” 

“Because Fm going to get my prize-money, and take 
it home when we get to New York.” 

“You are a small chap to belong to the crew. How 
did you get aboard?” 

“My father was a sailor and died on shipboard, and 
Captain Decatur took me so I could help my mother.” 

“That’s what I had to do when I was your age, 
because my father was impressed by the British. What 
did you do in the battle?” 

“I carried cartridges to the guns, and water for the 
men, and sometimes the logger heads to the galley 
fire to be heated, and I sprinkled sand on the deck 
where it was bloody, but we had only five men killed 
and six wounded.” 

“But how did you get on the crew list? You’re too 
young.” 


118 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“I asked Captain Decatur to have my name put 
down and he did.” 

“You asked the captain! That was pretty cheeky! 
I wonder he didn’t put you in irons. Tell us about it,” 
Harry said winking to his father. 

“You don’t know our captain. He’s all-fired strict 
with his men about doing their duty, but he likes 
them and he treats them right, and they like him. He 
was standing on the quarterdeck in his old clothes 
and an old straw hat on, just like a farmer, giving 
orders to his lieutenants, and with his glass watching 
the Macedonian. I went up to him and said, 

“Captain, can I have my name put on the muster- 
roll?” 

“What’s that?” he asked. “Why do you want to be 
enrolled?” 

“So when we capture the British frigate, I can get 
a share of the prize-money.” He laughed real hearty, 
and looked down on me as if he was making fun, and 
asked, 

“How do you come to know we will take her? She 
may destroy us, but she won’t capture us till our ship 
is sinking.” 

“I know we will capture her. We are all sure of 
that” 

“That is the kind of talk I like,” he said. “Come 
this way, Mr. Purser. Put Jack’s name on your 
muster-roll.” When the fight was over, and we were 


An Unexpected Meeting 


119 


clearing up the ship, the captain saw me and called 
me. 

“Well Jack we have taken her, and your share of 
the prize-money may be two hundred dollars. What 
will you do with so much money ?” 

“Half of it I will send mother, ” I told him. “The 
rest I will keep till I can go to school.” 

That seemed to please him and he put his hand on 
my shoulder and said, 

“Jack, I will look after your goipg to school, and 
if you want to ship with me you shall be a midship- 
man.” 

“Captain Decatur surely is a noble man.” 

“Mr. Macy, he’s the finest seaman afloat.” 

“But Jack, I also serve under just as fine a com- 
mander. He is young yet, only twenty-eight years 
old, and has not had a chance to become famous yet. 
He will do something great and be made a commo- 
dore. That’s the way we all feel about him.” 

The next morning Harry returned to the gunboat, 
and he did not see his father again for a long time. 
It was important to know if there were any English 
warships cruising about, and the gunboats were sent 
out far from shore. The coasts, fortunately, were 
clear and on December 4th Decatur sailed up Long 
Island Sound, and entered New York harbor with his 
prize. There the people went wild over the victory, 
and they gave the seamen one of the greatest recep- 


120 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


tions that had ever been seen in the city, and followed 
it with a splendid banquet. 

The Macedonian was thoroughly repaired and refit- 
ted, and sailed east, but she had to run in at New 
London, and there the English discovered her, and 
two ships of the line, seventy-four guns, blockaded 
her until the war was over. 

This gallant fight, following the victory of the Con- 
stitution, had a mighty effect on the American people. 
It put a new spirit into the conduct of the war, and 
enlarged its operations. At first, the immense superi- 
ority of England on the ocean had led to the convic- 
tion that our navy could do England little damage on 
the ocean, and that the army must be depended on 
to make a conquest of Canada, as the only way of 
fighting England. Now Congress quickly responded 
to the public sentiment by putting every ship in com- 
mission, and authorizing a large increase of the navy 
by building four ships of the line and other vessels of 
war. 

This victory also had an important result in 
changing Lieutenant Perry’s form of service. The 
Argus was vacant by the resignation of Lieutenant 
Sinclair. Perry had applied for this command, and had 
the priority in the line of promotion. But the Argus 
was in New York, and came under Decatur’s com- 
mand, and he assigned Lieutenant Allen to temporary 
command, and recommended his appointment. That of 


An Unexpected Meeting 


121 


course was equal to an appointment, after such bril- 
liant service as second officer on the United States, 
and successfully bringing the Macedonian to port. 
Perry felt the injustice of being passed over, but he 
was a friend of Allen’s and he did not allow his own 
disappointment to break his friendship. There were 
no more vacancies on sea-going vessels and he was 
led to ask for service on the lakes. So he wrote to 
Commodore Chauncey at Sackett’s Harbor, in com- 
mand of the naval service on Lake Ontario and Lake 
Erie, and offered his services to him. On the 1st of 
February, 1813, he received a kind and complimentary 
reply from Commodore Chauncey in which he said: 

“You are the very person I want for a particular 
service in which you may gain reputation for yourself 
and honor for your country.” 

A few days later a letter came from the Navy 
department, informing him that Commodore Chauncey 
had requested his appointment to build ships on Lake 
Erie. Perry at once informed his officers of the 
proposed work, and talked to the men about it. He 
let them see what great achievements might be 
expected in building a fleet to free the lakes of the 
English vessels, which dominated all the Western 
ports. He sought to interest the men in this new 
work, for he hoped to take a large band of those, whom 
he had trained, to help make a great success of the 
enterprise. 


CHAPTER XI 


The Long Overland Journey. 

Commander Perry’s proposition was a very serious 
one to Harry Macy. He would not have shrunk 
from enlisting for a three years voyage on a warship, 
which would probably be sent half way around the 
globe to destroy English merchant vessels ; but to 
leave the sea-coast and go a thousand miles inland to 
the heart of the continent, which at this time was a 
vast wilderness, seemed to the sea-bred young man 
like going to the ends of the earth, and no prospect 
of ever getting back again. How could one breathe 
shut up in the woods, where one couldn’t see more 
than a mile or two in any direction 

James heard him talking about it with Tom, and 
joined in the talk. 

“You will not be shut up in a box. You will be 
on a lake that is bigger than Long Island Sound.” 

“It will only be an eel-pond compared to the ocean.” 

“I think when you get there you will see something 
pretty big. I have always been taught that the lakes 
were the greatest inland waters in the world.” 

“Why, then, don’t the people out there build their 
own fleets, and fight their lake battles: Why must 
men from the East go out there to do this for them?” 

122 


The Long Overland Journey 


123 


“I reckon they are mostly farmers, and there are not 
very many of them, all together.” 

“But why then have the Canadians and English 
built a fleet, that threatens the cities and villages in 
New York and Ohio. I don’t understand why our 
people are behind.” 

“Well I don’t either, except that Canada was settled 
long before our people went west, and the population 
on their side of the line is much larger. We will 
ask our commander about that.” 

Not many Americans did understand, that in the 
possession of the entrance to the St. Lawrence River, 
and the control of its upper waters, the English 
controlled one of the most magnificent rivers in the 
world, and that it gave them a passage way by water 
into the heart of the continent. Their largest ships 
could ascend to the capital, Quebec, and supplies of all 
kinds were far more easily transported to the northern 
shore of Lake Erie, than they could be from New York 
to Buffalo. 

Harry brought up more objections. 

“I don’t see how we can build a fleet a thousand 
miles from foundries and rope-walks and cotton mills.” 

“There are foundries at Pittsburg and rope-walks, 
for they have built schooners on the Ohio River. 
Canvass for sails will have to be carried from the East 
and all other necessary supplies.” 


124 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


‘'It seems to me like asking us to build a fleet where 
there is nothing but green timber.” 

“Talk all you please, I’m going,” said Tom Starbuck. 
“If Perry says he can build a fleet there, I for one 
believe he will, and I am going to have a hand in it.” 

After all the explanations, Harry felt that he would 
be so far away from home, and that all the conditions 
of life would be so different from those to which he 
was accustomed, that it seemed like going into another 
world. But youth is brave and adventurous and when 
Perry became assured that he would be sent to the 
Lakes, both Harry and James w r ere eager to go and 
share his fortunes. Harry would have felt more 
contented about it, if he could have gone home before 
taking this long trip. But it was impossible to get to 
the island at this season, and if it had been possible 
there was no time for it, as Perry was every day 
looking for his orders to go west and to take men 
with him. He was picking out his men and getting 
all things arranged, so that he could send part of 
them on as soon as his orders were received. 

On the seventeenth of February they arrived, and 
he was directed to report at Sackett’s Harbor, on 
Lake Ontario, to Commodore Chauncey, with one 
hundred and fifty of his best officers and men. 

That very day he despatched sailing-master Almy 
with fifty men. Facilities for sending forward so 
many men were not very good, and the taverns along 


The Long Overland Journey 


125 


the roads through the forests were small cabins. He 
waited two days before sending sailing-master 
Champlin with the second company of fifty men in 
which were Harry, James, and Tom. And on the 21st 
of February he started the last detachment under 
command of sailing-master Taylor, and the next day 
himself started in a sleigh. He went around by way 
of his father’s house, near Watch Hill, and after a day 
there took his little brother, James Alexander Perry, 
and went on to Albany. 

Commodore Chauncey was in Albany, and their 
commander, who was now Captain Perry, arrived 
about the time Champlin’s company reached there. 
The next morning three large sleighs with comfort- 
able seats, the floor thickly bedded with straw, and 
blankets or comforts for warmth, drew up before their 
tavern. They were each drawn by four strong horses. 
There were some musicians among the men, and the 
shrill notes of the fife, and the bugle’s clarion call, and 
the inspiring rub-a-dub of the drums drew a crowd 
about the doors. Commodore Chauncey and Captain 
Perry came down to see them off. The men gave a 
loud cheer and then took their seats. The musicians 
struck up Hail Columbia, and the drivers cracked their 
long whips, and they were off on their long journey 
to an unknown region. As they dashed down the 
street the sailors began to sing some of those catchy 


126 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


sea-songs, which are as old as the days of the Vikings 
and still survive. 

The roads were fairly good for the deep snows had 
been broken by the sleds, loaded with supplies. But 
there were many hills to climb, and streams to cross 
where there were no bridges, and it took them nearly 
two weeks to reach Sackett’s Harbor, and then they 
were still far from Lake Erie. They found Lieutenant 
Taylor, and his crew waiting Commodore Chauncey’s 
arrival, and an unpleasant surprise followed his 
coming. When James had looked about, it dawned 
upon him that this was the end of the journey for a 
good many of Perry’s best men. He called Harry out 
of a group of men at the barracks, and went down by 
the shipyard. 

“Didn’t I hear you bragging a little about your 
seamanship?” he asked when they were alone. 

“Well, what if I was? Those men don’t seem to 
know anything of our captain and how he has trained 
us.” 

“Look around here, Harry. Don’t you think it will 
be a big job to finish this up by spring, and take a good 
many seamen to man these brigs? If you want to go 
with Perry, it may be just as well to be dumb about 
your seamanship, until after the commodore has 
picked over our men. That’s what I have found out, 
and I’m a greenhorn, and don’t you forget it.” 

“It’s a scurvy trick to play on Perry, to take his best 


The Long Overland Journey 


127 


men, and give him the poorest workers for a hard job 
at the end of the earth.” 

“Be careful, boy. Don’t talk about your superior 
officers in a disrespectful way. I know from our 
sailing-master that Captain Perry is disappointed. Of 
course, any one can see that the Commodore has a 
large and important campaign before him, for he is 
nearest to the Canadian center, and if he can keep 
Ontario clear, they cannot forward supplies to Detroit. 
But I came to help Perry, and I mean to stick to him.” 

Harry laughed in spite of his indignation. 

“You don’t need to say more. Pm a land lubber 
from the Cheshire hills in New Hampshire, and I 
know some other men, who will be from the Green 
Mountains. We will be good choppers and sawyers, 
and first class hands at the trenchers. 

Harry was at first the laughing-stock of the men 
but some others followed his example, and about 
half of Champlin’s men were left out, when the 
commodore’s officers picked over the men for the 
Ontario fleet. A few days later three sleds were 
loaded up, and sent forward to Black Rock, and 
Buffalo, and about the middle of March arrived at 
Presque Isle. But Tom Starbuck was left behind, 
having been detailed for the flagship, and the two 
young men parted company with deep regret. That 
last leg of the journey was the smoothest and most 
rapid travelling, for they went on the ice on the lake. 


128 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


It was about three o’clock on a fair March day, when 
the sleds drove up in front of the rude barracks, which 
Mr. Almy’s company had put up for the sleeping 
quarters, not far from the ravine through which Mill 
Creek found its way down to the lake. Harry saw 
the cabins of a small village scattered about on the 
rather level surface of a terrace, that was about sixty 
feet above the lake. He carried his dunnage into the 
long cabin, and hurried out again to look about the 
bay, where he would work for many months. 

“Let’s go up on the hill where that block-house 
stands,” said James. 

This was a high bluff on the east side of Mill Creek, 
about seventy feet above the water. From the top 
they could see the long bay, and the narrow entrance 
below them and stretching far away beyond the ice, 
east, west, and north the blue waters of Lake Erie. 

“It’s something like Nantucket Bay,” Harry ex- 
claimed. “There’s the point out there like Coatue, and 
the long bay, not quite as big as our bay and it heads 
west instead of east. That’s a big piece of water out 
there, if it isn’t the ocean, and I think I shall like the 
novelty of learning to sail on it.” 

“Well I’m glad you’re pleased, and going to be con- 
tented,” James answered. “As soon as we get to work 
we will like that. To be busy and useful is the way 
to be contented.” 

“How long do you think the harbor is?” 


The Long Overland Journey 


129 


“Five or six miles I should say but this air is dif- 
ferent from the sea air, and I may be mistaken/’ 

“There are the gunboats below us, and up there are 
some larger vessels. It’s about a mile up there I 
should say. Probably it’s deeper up there.” 

There two young men inspected the block-house, 
and were shown the place where General Anthony 
Wayne’s body had lain until four years before this 
time, when his bones were removed to Radnor Ceme- 
tery in Chester County. Then they went down to the 
shipyard, where the gunboats were being planked up. 
Here they were met by a tall, energetic man, not in 
uniform, but who seemed to be an officer. Before 
they could inquire about him, he approached them, 
and the young men gave him an officer’s salute. 

“ You are some of the seamen who arrived today, 
I think.” 

“Ay, sir. We are Perry’s men.” 

“It is too late to do any work this evening. Report 
to me at six o’clock tomorrow morning, at the nearest 
sloop, and I will assign you your tasks.” 

“Are you the officer in command of the navy yard?” 

“Yes, I am Daniel Dobbins.” 

“Tell us something about the building of these ves- 
sels.” 

“When General Hull surrendered I was sent to 
Washington to carry the despatches. The President 
asked me for my opinion about building a squadron 


130 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


for service on Lake Erie. I recommended this harbor 
as being the most secure, because the bar at the 
entrance would prevent the enemy’s vessels from com- 
ing in to destroy the ships while they were on the 
stocks. I was ordered to return here, and lay down 
the timbers for three gunboats. After my work was 
well begun I reported to Commodore Chauncey, but 
he was absent, and Lieutenant Elliott, who is build- 
ing and refitting the vessels at Black Rock, criticised 
my action in selecting this harbor. But when Commo- 
dore Chauncey came down in January, he not only 
commended the place and the work done, but ordered 
me to get out timber for two brigs.” 

“Will there be any difficulty in getting them over 
the bar?” Harry asked for he was familiar with such 
an obstruction to the heavily-laden whalers on their 
return to Nantucket. 

“There is usually six feet on the bar, but it varies. 
The gunboats will not draw more than six feet. The 
brigs will draw nine, and may stick, but we can lift 
them over.” 

“Of course. They often use camels on the Nan- 
tucket bar.” 

“Are you from Nantucket?” Master Commander 
Dobbins asked Harry. 

“Ay, sir.” 

“Mr. Brown will be glad to have an experienced 
seaman from Nantucket.” 


The Long Overland Journey 


131 


“Who is Mr. Brown?” 

“The master carpenter.” 

“Have you sailed on the lakes, sir?” 

“Why do you ask ?” 

“A sailor seems to recognize a sailor the world 
over.” 

“Yes. I had a sloop, the Salina. Mr. Reed and I 
owned her. I was up at Mackinac when war was 
declared. The Canadians got the news from New 
York, and sent word by swift runners ; so I was caught 
when they captured Mackinac, and paroled afterward 
and came home, but I lost my sloop.” 

Harry and James went over the sloops, two of which 
were being planked up. A third one had been length- 
ened twelve feet by order of Mr. Eckford, the chief 
carpenter in the commodore's department, who had 
inspected the work in January. This had delayed the 
construction of this sloop, which was afterward called 
the Scorpion. These three gunboats were on the beach 
near the mouth of a small creek called Lee's Run. 

They walked along the narrow beach under the 
bluff, which is about sixty feet above the water. A 
mile beyond Lee’s Run they came to an opening where 
Cascade Creek tumbles over a slaty ledge about 
fifteen feet making a pretty fall. Here they found the 
master carpenter with a score of workmen, laying the 
keels of the two brigs. The sun was sinking down 
below the tree-tops in the heavy forest on the hills, a 


132 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


few miles back from the village, and Mr. Noah Brown, 
the carpenter, was hurrying his men to fasten the ribs 
of heavy oak which had been placed in position. 

“Say men,” he called to James and Harry, “Will 
you lend a hand to help us for a half hour? Your 
work won’t begin till tomorrow, but the choppers have 
delayed us with these ribs so long, that we did not 
get them in time to set them up till a little while ago. 
If you can take hold of those props, Bill and Sam 
will drive in the plugs and bolts, and we will have 
them all fastened secure by sunset.” 

“Ay, Ay.” Harry answered throwing off his pea- 
jacket. “We are stiff from our long ride, and will be 
glad to limber up before grub-time.” Harry and 
James took hold of the props, and worked away with 
the carpenters until Mr. Brown gave the order to stop 
work. Then they marched back to the barracks with 
a jolly company of carpenters, who had lately arrived 
from Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER XII. 


Building The Lake Erie Fleet. 

Early the next morning Harry Macy turned out of 
his bunk, and going outside washed his face and hands 
in the new-fallen snow. It was not time for break- 
fast, and he ran down the steep bluff to the water side. 
The bay was still frozen over, and the vessels could 
not be launched until the ice broke up later in the 
spring. Here his work would occupy him for several 
months, for unless the force of choppers and carpenters 
was largely increased, it would be July before these 
six vessels were finished and fitted out. 

Harry was not one of those men who drop their 
work out of mind when they lay down their tools at 
night. He thought about it, and then, if he had made 
any mistakes, or had not completed it to his satisfac- 
tion, he knew better how it should be done the next 
day. His interest in this new undertaking was aroused 
by what he had seen on his journey and by Mr. 
Dobbins’ talk. He began to realize what a large under- 
taking it was, and he wanted to know all he could 
learn of it, and have a share in building a fleet, which 
would please Captain Perry, and with which he could 
meet any hostile ships, and so gain command of the 
lakes. Having waked up early he was irresistibly 
133 


134 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


drawn to the shipyard. 

As he walked around the nearest sloop, he saw Mr. 
Dobbins coming down the ladder, and saluted him. 

“Good morning. It’s Macy I think. You are stir- 
ring early.” 

“Ay, sir. I’m thinking what a big job this is, and 
came out to look around.” 

“I also came out to look around. I feel a great 
responsibility for these vessels. They should be better 
guarded, for a spy might easily creep in and destroy 
all our winter’s work in an hour. So I come out to 
see if the guards are at their post and awake. When 
Captain Perry comes we must increase our company 
of guards among the workmen, and if your men have 
been well-drilled, have it reorganized with good offi- 
cers, and I think a militia force should be stationed 
here.” 

“Captain Perry’s men are all well drilled in small 
arms.” 

“He is a very able and careful officer, I have been 
informed.” 

Harry eagerly told Mr. Dobbins how well they had 
been drilled, and what a strict and watchful officer 
Captain Perry was. This seemed to give Mr. Dobbins 
great satisfaction. Harry then asked him about the 
villages and cities on the lakes, and learned that 
Detroit was a place of considerable population, and 
the center of trade for the western country; also that 


Building the Lake Erie Fleet 


135 


there were several sloops on the lakes, engaged in 
carrying salt from the East to the West, and bringing 
back furs. 

“Is salt such a valuable article out here?” Harry 
asked in surprise. 

“Yes. There are only a few salt springs that give a 
large flow. Our waters are all fresh. We don’t have 
salt water all around us, as you have at Nantucket.” 

“I see. Of course, people can’t live very well without 
salt. We need it to cure fish and meats.” 

“We don’t cure fish to any great extent yet, as you 
do in New England. There are plenty of fine fish in 
the lakes, and it will be a good business after a while. 
We have beef and pork here, more than enough for 
our use.” 

“Where does the salt come from?” 

“A place called Salina, on Onondaga Creek, up the 
Oswego River. They boil it there, and send the salt 
in barrels down to Oswego. A few years ago General 
O’Hara established a transportation line from there to 
the Niagara River, then by wagons to Black Rock, 
and then by sloops again to this harbor. From here 
it was carried by wagons to Waterford on French 
Creek, and floated down on flat boats to Pittsburg. The 
first year six thousand barrels of salt were brought 
here, and three times as many another year.” 

“Your sloop was the Salina. You carried salt for 
your cargo?” 


136 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Yes. It was a good business, and Mr. Reed and I 
were doing well. But the English captured us, and 
that was a heavy loss.” 

“And what would a cargo of furs be worth?” 

“That would depend on the quality of the furs. The 
finest were not usually risked on the lakes. They were 
carried on the upper water ways by canoes, through 
Georgian Bay, and portaged over to the Ottawa River. 
But a sloop load of furs would be worth from one to 
two hundred thousand dollars.” 

“Jiminy. That’s better than whaling, and not so 
risky.” 

“When Lieutenant Elliott cut out those three ves- 
sels from under the guns of Ft. Erie, one small brig, 
the Caledonia, was loaded with two hundred thousand 
dollars worth of furs. It was a brave undertaking, and 
he got a rich share of the prize money. Commodore 
Chauncey’s share was the largest, of course, and he 
sets a good deal of store by Lieutenant Elliott since 
that operation.” 

“There are some very valuable prizes made by the 
warships on the ocean. But I thought we were leaving 
all those chances behind when we came out to the 
lakes.” 

“Commerce on the lakes is small yet, of course. But 
in time there will be a large population in these states 
along the lakes, and some better way of transporta- 
tion will be devised to carry the products to the East. 


Building the Lake Erie Fleet 


137 


The rivers may be deepened and canals connect them, 
so there may be water transportation all the way. The 
lakes will then have many large and small vessels., 
carrying large cargoes.” 

“I calculate we people in the East don’t know much 
about the West. We have to come out here and see it, 
to understand what a great country we have. It’s well 
worth defending.” 

“The British hanker after it yet. They would like 
to alter the boundaries again, and cut off all that is 
north of a line from the west end of Lake Erie well 
down on the Mississippi River. Then they would 
keep Detroit, as the center of the fur trade, and control 
all the lake business forever.” 

“We will never let them do that. The war leaders 
expect to conquer Canada.” 

“That is a wild notion. The English can reinforce 
Canada with men and supplies very easily, and really 
we don’t want Canada. It’s too largely French for us. 
It’s a foreign element in the English domain, and it 
will be many years before they change their language 
and ideas.” 

Master Dobbins had continued his inspection as they 
talked, and finding all safe, he went back to his home, 
and Harry went up the hill to the shed, where the 
meals were served. He thought Mr. Dobbins w r as a 
fine man, and was glad to have such a careful and well 
posted officer to assign him his work. For Daniel 


138 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Dobbins, although he was born in the mountains of 
Pennsylvania, and had not been trained to a seaman’s 
life when he was young, was one of those men who 
easily acquire the knowledge of any business they 
undertake. He was not only a thorough sailor, but 
had gained a good knowledge of all the harbors on 
Lake Erie and the lakes above it, and had studied 
the navigation of these inland waters, and understood 
how to overcome their peculiar difficulties. He was 
not a showy man, and did not put forward his opinions 
until asked, but those who came to know him, or had 
business dealings with him, trusted his judgment and 
his honor. 

In this case the liking was mutual. When Mr. 
Dobbins sat down to his breakfast table he spoke of 
Harry Macy as a good workman and sailor, and as a 
young man of a good spirit and agreeable manners. 
When the men had gathered in the shipyard, there 
seemed to be a large supply of timber, and there was 
some surprise when Mr. Brown and Mr. Dobbins told 
off a dozen of the best axmen, and sent them out to 
the woods to chop down the oaks and chestnuts, 
standing on the hilly slopes a mile from the village. 

James was put to work planking up the sloop, which 
was afterwards called the Scorpion, and three men 
were told off to help him. Some of the old force of 
men were caulking up the two gunboats, which had 
been already planked up; Harry was given charge of 


Building the Lake Erie Fleet 


139 


the interior work on one of these gunboats after Mr. 
Dobbins had a talk with Master Champlin. 

Mr. Dobbins had employed many choppers through 
the winter but the enlargement of the fleet to be built 
required a great amount of timber. The oak planks, 
ribs, beams, and heavy timbers were split from the 
logs with the wedge and beetle on the beech, and 
then dressed to even thickness and size by axes in the 
hands of skilled carpenters. For the floors and decks, 
and the interior work, pine boards and timbers were 
used, which were sawed out at the mill near the 
mouth of Mill Creek and at Cochran’s Mill, farther 
up the stream, nearly two miles from the village. 

But these mills were small and the output was not 
sufficient to keep the large force of men busy. Fifty 
carpenters from Philadelphia arrived about this time, 
and the work was held back for want of lumber. Saw 
pits were dug and men set to work with whip saws, 
ripping out planks for the decks. Mr. Dobbins sent 
Harry to the pits to hurry up the work. 

“More planks! More planks,” he called out. Mr. 
Dobbins says you are too slow. We are waiting for 
this flooring.” 

“We are getting it out as fast as we can.” 

“Tell that to the marines. You are soldiering. When 
Captain Perry gets here next week, he will put some 
mustard in your drinking water.” 

“He better give us more grog,” said one sour-look- 


140 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


ing sawyer, who was always complaining of his work 
and the grub.” 

“You take too much now, Jim Sandy. That’s the 
trouble with you.” 

“If you think this work can be done quicker, get 
down in the pit and pull on a saw,” said a pleasant 
young fellow. “When you get your eyes full of saw- 
dust, you will see some things better.” 

“And you will know more, but you won’t look so 
pretty.” Jim Sandy added. 

“I’m not afraid of dirty or unpleasant work, but I 
do care to have my job pushed ahead. When Perry 
comes he will push things, for he is a pusher, and he 
understands this whole business from the keel to the 
main-top gallant mast.” 

“Say, Mister, would you say them words over agin? 
You reeled ’em off too fast fer me to ketch their 
meanin.’ ” 

“You will catch on to them fast enough when you 
are sent aloft, and have to hold on to the main royal 
yard.” 

“If there’s a yard up there on the mast top mebbe I 
can keep my footing.” 

“I see you are no sailor yet, but when the fleet is 
built, if you sail on my ship, I will help you learn the 
ropes.” 

“If Captain Perry wants more boards he will need 
more pits and sawyers.” 


Building the Lake Erie Fleet 


141 


“He will have them if they are needed. Meantime 
remember — Mr. Dobbins sends you orders by me, to 
drive your work faster. He will come around here 
soon to see if you are doing it.” 

Captain Perry did not arrive at Erie until March 
27th, for Commodore Chauncey was expecting an 
attack from the British, and wanted his help. But as 
they did not appear he sent him on to his station. As 
Mr. Dobbins had foreseen, the first thing which 
impressed the commander was the defenceless state of 
the navy yard. A small force of the enemy could 
destroy it, and they could be landed at any time from 
the enemy’s fleet of five well armed vessels. He at 
once reorganized and increased the company of 
guards, and selected capable officers from his own well 
trained men. James and Harry were both made 
sergeants. For sometime work stopped an hour earlier, 
and the men were obliged to spend two hours every 
evening in drill. 

Fifty carpenters came on from Philadelphia, but 
their tools had been sent another way and had not 
arrived. They were set to work building a redoubt 
on the hill, just beyond the entrance to the harbor, 
under charge of sailing-master Taylor, and a block- 
house was erected near Cascade Creek to protect the 
brigs. Then Captain Perry sent sailing-master Dob- 
bins to Buffalo, to get some guns for the redoubt, and 
small arms for the guards. When all this was in 


142 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


motion, Perry set off on horseback for Pittsburg, to 
order up supplies, ammunition, and guns for the 
defence of the ships. 

At Pittsburg he was fortunate in finding Captain 
A. K. Woolley in command of the post. He was a 
very efficient ordnance officer, and had a good under- 
standing of the difficulties fronting Captain Perry, 
and he was in complete sympathy with him in his 
efforts to secure the supplies he needed for his work 
and the equipment of his fleet. He gave him shrewd 
advice about sending on his requisitions. And Perry 
saw that they would reach him much quicker, if sent 
from Philadelphia, than if sent from New York by way 
of Lake Ontario. So he ordered cordage and canvas, 
and all the numerous and varied supplies necessary for 
the fleet. 

Captain Woolley lent him four small guns for his 
redoubt, and furnished him some small arms, and 
ammunition. He took him around to the foundries, 
and arranged for the casting of the balls for the guns 
of the fleet. Some of the balls were cast by a Scotch- 
man, named Grant, near Steubenville in a crude 
furnace, and were carried to Erie on pack-mules. In 
ten days Captain Perry was back again, and he was 
gratified to find that the larger force had accom- 
plished a good deal more of the constructive work, 
and that a new spirit had been infused into the men 
by the skilled officers and workmen whom he had 


Building the Lake Erie Fleet 


143 


sent on. Still he was not satisfied with the means of 
defence. Mr. Dobbins had only brought back one 
gun. So Perry sent a letter by Sergeant Macy to 
General Meade, who was in command of the militia 
in that part of Pennsylvania, asking him to station a 
large command of militia at Erie. 

General Meade came up to Erie, and had a confer- 
ence with Captain Perry, and saw the importance of 
his request. In a few days a battalion of five hundred 
men arrived, and erected barracks back of the navy 
yard at Cascade Creek, and encamped there. All this 
added much to the stir and business of the little 
village of five hundred people. Harry Macy was busy 
and contented. He enjoyed the respect and confidence 
of his officers, and was becoming well acquainted with 
the business men of Erie. And late in April Mr. 
Dobbins introduced him to his minister, Rev. Robert 
Reed, a young man of pleasing manners and a talented 
speaker. He invited Harry to come down to church, 
and in the evening Harry and James went to the 
small log building used for a church. It was lighted 
by tallow candles, and seemed rather gloomy, but the 
room was well filled, and the service was an interesting 
one. Harry was pleased with the singing, and enjoyed 
one clear, sweet soprano voice. The singer was well 
up in front, and Harry saw that she was a young lady, 
and there was something familiar about her face, but 
the light was too dim for him to see very well, and in 


144 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


the busy days of the week that followed he forgot all 
about the incident. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


Luff, Dolly, Luff! 

It was a beautiful Sunday early in May, and a gentle 
breeze was stirring the waters in the bay, and wafting 
the sweet fragrance of wild crab and plum blossoms 
from the clearings around the village. Harry had been 
on duty as officer of the day at the block-house near 
Cascade Creek. He sat outside on a log, and looked 
at the rippling water below him, and thought of his 
home in far away Nantucket. Twice he climbed the 
flag staff by the cross-pieces, and from the lookout 
scanned the horizon east, north and west, but no sail 
broke the straight line that bounded his vision. He 
looked towards the village and saw the people coming 
out of their houses, and passing along the streets to 
the little Presbyterian church, the only church in the 
village. Some of the militia officers, and a few of the 
sailors came out of the barracks, and went reverently 
to the service. But no sweet voiced bell, like the old 
Spanish bell in the South church tower at Nantucket, 
called the people to worship God. It was noon now 
on that little island, and his mother had gone home, 
and was getting dinner for the children. How he 
would like to peep in the window, and then open the 
door and walk in, and take them all by surprise. 

145 


146 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


The sound of singing came floating up the hill from 
a group of sailors, lounging by the brigs, and reminded 
Harry of the sweetvoiced soprano at the church the 
last Sunday evening. There was something familiar 
in her looks, but he could not see her clearly enough 
to settle in his mind of whom she reminded him. He 
thought he would go again to church this evening, 
and take a better look at the singer. 

Harry was relieved of duty early in the afternoon, 
and asked James to take a row with him up the bay. 
But his companion did not seem to share his pleasure 
on the water, and by the middle of the afternoon they 
were back again at the rough log dock. James wanted 
to sit among the men and smoke and talk, but Harry 
was too restless for that. He hung about for a little 
while under the lee of the brigs, but soon grew weary 
of the yarns he had heard before and walked away. 
So, about four o’clock, he started out of the village on 
a grassy road, which wound around the stumps and 
bushes south of the village. 

The wagon tracks followed the course of Mill Creek, 
a pretty stream, and now full to its banks from melted 
snow and spring rains. At first, little could be seen 
but stumps, and piles of brush, and bushes in flower 
and light green leaves in the corners of the rude brush 
and pole fences. But a mile from the lake shore the 
land began to rise, and he stepped off to the west and 
climbed the low hills. This gave him a wide view to 


Luff, Dolly, Luff! 


147 


the north over the lake, and was the most satisfying 
outlook he had yet enjoyed. 

The woods were so clean, and the great oaks, 
chestnuts and pines so majestic, and the blue lake 
beneath stretched far away into the unknown west, 
that the restless feeling which had disturbed him all 
day subsided. He sat down on a rock and began to 
sing. He had a fine tenor voice, and, like most people 
with good voices, he enjoyed singing and trying new 
effects in harmony. At first he sang some of the rol- 
licking sailor airs of the time, but soon, under the 
spell of the day and the quiet beauty of the scene, he 
fell into the old hymns he had known from childhood. 

A half an hour of this was enough for an active 
young man like Harry, and he went on again picking 
the flowers he found blooming in great abundance 
and variety about the trees. Soon he came to the crest 
of the hill, and looked down through the leafless oaks 
into a quiet and peaceful valley, where the creek made 
a bend from the west and flowed north to the lake. A 
flock of sheep, startled by his approach, followed the 
bell-wether, racing down the hillside. There was a 
clearing in the valley, and smoke rose from a chimney 
at the end of a log-cabin. Harry thought he would 
go down there and take a look at this cabin home in 
the woods. He followed the sheep down the hill, but 
found so many old weeds with burrs and stickers, 
that he took the open spaces among the trees until he 


148 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


could get out of the woods into the road again. Harry 
had put on his nattiest sailor suit that morning, and he 
had no mind to make work for himself in cleaning 
Spanish needles, and the pesky little burs called 
beggars’ lice, out of his clothes. For no dandy in the 
city is more particular about his clothing, than the 
officers and sailors of the American Navy; and Captain 
Perry was very strict in requiring that his ship should 
be spotlessly clean, and his men always neat in dress. 

There was a rail fence running along both sides of 
the road. On one side was a large double cabin with 
some fruit trees around it, and bushes and shrubs 
before the door; on the other side, was a log stable 
and some sheds, and a pasture lot beyond it. But 
most wonderful of all was the weather vane on the 
peak of the stable. Harry could scarcely believe his 
eyes, for it was a whale, a true Nantucket weather 
vane. 

While he was standing still in his astonishment he 
heard a girl singing in a sweet voice. 

“The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want.” The 
singing seemed to come from the pasture lot, but 
Harry could not see the singer. Two sailors were 
approaching from the other direction, and stopping 
now and then to peer through the bushes into the field. 
Harry started along at a rapid pace, for he recognized 
the men as two of the roughest of all the rowdy 
men whom Commodore Chauncey had lately sent down 
























« 


























Luff, Dolly, Luff ! 




Luff, Dolly, Luff! 


149 


from Lake Ontario. The commodore seemed willing 
to pay this high tribute to Captain Perry’s ability to 
drill and train into efficient seamen the poorest men 
who came into his hand, forgetting that Perry had 
greater need of well trained men for the hard task 
committed to him. 

“Lord! Look at the whale, Dick!” 

“Some old sailors has come into a snug harbor here,” 
Dick replied. 

Then the men turned to the fence, and stopped to 
look at something. The girl seemed to be driving a 
cow towards the barn, but the cow wanted to eat the 
young grass, and would not go where the girl wanted 
her to go. 

“Luff, Dolly, luff! You’ve been cruising around all 
day, and have a full cargo. Now you must sail into 
port and unload.” 

There was a loud, boisterous laugh from the two 
sailors at the fence. 

“Luff! cow, luff. There’s a sailor’s lass for you, 
Sam,” said Dick Riley in a loud, mocking voice. The 
cow moved back, and the girl, whom Harry could now 
see, was startled, for she had not perceived the 
approach of the men. Harry was accustomed to hear- 
ing girls and women at home use nautical words, and 
at first he was inclined to laugh ; but as soon as he saw 
that the girl was frightened, he called out, to the men. 

“Stop your coarse laughing. You have frightened 


150 Don’t Give Up the Ship 

this young lady. You ought to be ashamed. You have 
disgraced your colors by your bad manners.” 

‘Til take no lecturing from a silly coxcomb like 
you,” Sam answered. 

“You will get something worse if you don’t behave 
yourself,” said Harry in a clear, loud tone, and with 
a look that silenced Sam. Then he laid his hand on 
the top rail and vaulted into the field. The sailors 
stood by, angry, but quiet, and looked on to see what 
further would happen. And then they laughed again, 
as the cow was scared at the sight of the young sailor 
flying over the fence. Certainly Harry looked very 
handsome in his blue mustering jacket, white duck 
trousers, blue shirt with wide collar and white neck 
cloth, and neat black tarpaulin hat, set rakishly on 
the side of his head; but Dolly was not used to men 
who wore anything finer than jeans. The young lady 
drew herself up in a dignified way, and Harry was 
surprised to discoever that she was the sweet singer 
he had heard in the village church. 

“What do you mean, sir, by your rude laughter, 
and by your rude actions, frightening my cow. You 
are trespassing.” 

“Excuse me, Miss. I was not one of those rude 
fellows who jeered at you. I came in to help you 
drive your cow. If she was a good Nantucket cow, 
she would know better what luff means.” 


Luff, Dolly, Luff! 


151 


“Nantucket!’’ the young woman exclaimed, “Are 
you from Nantucket?” 

“I am, and I think that was once your home. Ruth 
Chase, do you not remember your old playmate, Harry 
Macy?” 

“Harry Macy! Is it possible!” Ruth cried out in 
great astonishment. “You have changed so, I would 
not have known you. You don’t look like the round- 
faced boy, twelve years old, who wanted to go off 
on a whaling voyage a few years ago.” 

A man came around the barn with a heavy wooden 
pitchfork in his hand, and at sight of him the two 
sailors went off down the road to the village. 

“What’s the trouble, Ruth? Were those sailors 
annoying you?” he called out. 

“Ahoy, father! Do you know this craft?” 

“You don’t remember the bad boy, who used to steal 
your dory sometimes to go fishing off Coatue.” 

“You look like one of William Macy’s crew. I 
cal’late you must be Harry. You’ve grown, lad, and 
in that natty suit I wouldn’t have known you. You’re 
one of Perry’s men. I hadn’t heard you had shipped 
in the navy. When did you come out here?” 

“Nearly two months ago, with my commander, Mr. 
Champlin.” 

“I wonder I did not see you. I’ve been down to the 
shipyards three times lately to see the vessels. The 
people out here think they are big ships, but, good 


152 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


land! What would they think of a big frigate, or a 
regular ship of the line? What are you working on?” 

“At first I finished up the inside framing, and floor- 
ing the decks of the gunboat that was launched 
several weeks ago. But for three weeks I have been 
working on one of the brigs. Perry expects to make 
her his flagship, and we are putting our best work of 
construction on her, so she will be a fast sailor, and 
mind her helm like a good woman. Mr. Brown and 
Mr. Dobbins have sent me off frequently to oversee 
other work, or to hurry forward timber, and I may 
have happened to be gone when you were there. I 
wouldn’t have thought of seeing you here, but I would 
have known you even in your western togs. We 
thought you settled down in Ohio. How did you come 
here?” 

“I went to Pittsburg with the notion of taking up 
some of that rich land on the river bottoms in Ohio. 
They tell some big stories about corn, as tall as a 
mizzen mast on the Scioto bottoms, and potateos 
bigger than a three year old clam. But at Pittsburg 
I met a man from there, as yellow as Nantucket yar- 
row from bilious fever, and he said people were sick 
with fever half the time. Then there was no way to 
market their big crops of corn, unless they built a 
flat-boat and floated down the river a hundred miles 
to the Ohio, and down that seven hundred miles to 
the Mississippi, and down the Mississippi two thou- 


Luff, Dolly, Luff! 


153 


sand more to New Orleans. Then if you sold your 
crop you would likely be robbed of the money by 
land-pirates before you could carry it back three 
thousand miles home. So I heard about this place 
and harbor on the lake, and fairly good land for farm- 
ing, and I thought there was a better chance to get a 
crop to market by the lakes, and the St. Lawrence 
River. I’m too much of a sailor to think of growing 
a big crop two or three thousand miles away from a 
market, without any good means of transportation.” 

“A Nantucket man on land is like a fish out of water. 
You should hear father talk about the dangers in the 
fields and woods. I believe he won’t feel sure of living 
out half his days, if he keeps on farming. He won’t 
feel safe till he gets aboard a sloop or a fishing smack 
out in the lake.” 

“Here, Ruth, you stop making fun of your old daddy, 
and take Harry into the cabin, and let mother see him, 
while I do up my chores and you milk Dolly.” 

“No! Ruth, I’ll take the helm, and steer Dolly into 
port, and then I’ll heave up her cargo. I haven’t 
forgotten how to milk. Avast there, Dolly. Come 
into port.” 

“I may as well take an oar while you steer. Dolly 
will sheer off from those white trousers.” 

“Shiver my timbers! That’s no lie. Give me your 
big brown apron, Ruth. She won’t be afraid of your 
sail.” 


154 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Harry hung his hat on the fence and Dolly was 
quiet enough, and was easily driven to her shed. Harry 
gave her a good feed of corn-fodder, and with Ruth 
standing by to make the cow confident, he soon had 
the big bucket half full of foamy milk. He carried 
it by the long stave, which served for a handle, to the 
kitchen side of the cabin, where Mrs. Chase was 
getting supper ready. Of course, Harry was asked to 
stay to supper, and he had no hesitation about accept- 
ing the hearty invitation of the good motherly woman, 
who had been one of his mother’s best friends. 

Time flew by rapidly as Harry told these friends 
all the late news from the old home. Mrs. Chase 
warmed up some fish chowder left from their dinner, 
with many apologies for its not being as good as clam 
or bluefish, but Harry silenced them all by saying, it 
was the best thing he had eaten for many months. 
At last Ruth sprang up from the table saying, it would 
soon be early candle-light, and they would be late to 
the evening service. 

“Don’t talk of going to church this evening.” Mr. 
Chase objected. “We will stay in, and Harry will 
spend the evening, and we will have a good yarn about 
Nantucket. He hasn’t told us half the news yet.” 

“But I must go, father. Mr. Reid asked me par- 
ticularly to come tonight. He said he expected Captain 
Perry would be there, and some other officers, and he 
was anxious to have good singing.” 


Luff, Dolly, Luff! 


155 


“But I haven’t finished feeding my stock, and cannot 
get ready in time. And besides, we want to have a 
good visit with Harry.” 

“There’s no use to try to get her to stay at home, 
Mr. Chase. She still keeps her New England consci- 
ence, and that’s backed up by a strong will of her 
own.” 

“You needn’t make fun of me, Harry Macy.” 

“I’m not, and I’ll take you to church if your father 
cannot.” 

Ruth w r as really concerned to keep her promise, and 
not to disappoint her pastor, who was a talented man, 
and highly respected for his hard, self denying labors 
in a field, where there was much evil to be uprooted. 
So Willie Chase put the horse in the wagon and Ruth 
and Mrs. Chase took down their poke bonnets and 
capes from pins in the log wall. 

Harry was delighted to find some home folks in 
Erie, and his life here took on new comfort and 
pleasure. He did not know how deeply he had missed 
his old playmate, until so unexpectedly he had found 
her again. She was not only a beautiful young woman 
of eighteen years, but she had a very bright mind, and 
was unusually intelligent for one, whose advantages 
of education had not been very large. But really 
there were few young women in that day who obtained 
any higher education in schools than Ruth Chase 
enjoyed. All that came to them, more than that, was 


156 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


acquired at home, or by observation in their social 
circles. Ruth had made use of every source of mental 
information and growth, and was the most popular 
young lady in or about the little village of five hun- 
dred people. 

It must not be supposed that she usually talked in 
sailor’s lingo, but at her home, as in many Nantucket 
homes at that day, nautical terms were in frequent 
use by men and women alike. And perhaps this 
family in the far west, kept up the custom as a 
remembrance of their old home, as foreigners, long 
after they are well used to the English language, speak 
German or Italian among themselves out of their deep 
love for their fatherland. 

Harry was beginning to make acquaintances in the 
village, but tonight marked his introduction to some 
of the young people with whom he became very 
friendly. For when the handsome young sailor walked 
in with Mrs. Chase and Ruth, and his rich tenor gave 
more volume and sweetness to the singing, a good 
many of the congregation turned their heads to see the 
stranger, and young and old were ready to shake 
hands and invite him to come again. 

Harry rode back with the ladies to their home, but 
he could not stay long, for the strict discipline of the 
service was maintained on shore with all the enlisted 
sailors. Tatoo was beaten at nine o’clock, or two bells, 
and a gun was fired at the block-house. All lights 


Luff, Dolly, Luff! 


157 


were put out in a few minutes, and an officer made the 
rounds to see that all were in their bunks, and any 
one who was absent was reported to the sailing-master, 
and a squad sent to the taverns to look him up. 

Harry promised to come out again Monday evening. 
This was the beginning of many social enjoyments 
for Harry Macy before the fleet sailed away in August, 
but none were so pleasant as the evenings which he 
spent among these old friends. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


Harry Makes New Friends. 

Tuesday evening Harry was walking along Third 
Street, and as he passed a group of sailors in front of a 
tavern, he heard Dick Riley telling the story of the 
girl and the cow. After he had passed he heard Riley 
repeat Ruth’s words, “Luff, Dolly, Luff!” Although 
it seemed intended for him, he took no notice of it, 
going on to Mr. Colt’s house, where he had been 
invited for the evening. The next evening he saw the 
same group at the tavern, and heard Sam say: 

“Here comes the coxcomb now.” As he passed 
Dick’s voice again followed him in a mocking tone, 

“Luff, Dolly, Luff!” 

Harry stopped at once and faced Riley and said in 
a cool tone, 

“If you said that only to annoy me, I would not 
notice it. But as you are repeating an innocent 
remark by a very respectable and worthy young lady, 
I want you to understand that is the last time you will 
repeat it in my presence. Try it again and I will slap 
your dirty mouth.” 

Riley stepped out of the crowd and said, 

“You will slap me to your sorrow.” 

“Behave yourself, and don’t try to make fun of a 
158 


Harry Makes New Friends 


159 


young lady, who is too good for such a fellow as you 
to look at. If you repeat it you will get hurt.” 

Dick lifted his clenched fist with an oath, and 
stepped forward to strike Harry, but before he could 
draw back, Harry’s right arm shot out with amazing 
celerity, and Dick went down under a sledge hammer 
blow, which loosened his teeth. 

“Do you want another slap ?” Harry asked, standing 
over him, while the men rushed out of the tavern in 
great excitement to see the fight. 

“I’ve had enough. I’ll not say any more about your 
friend.” 

“All right. We’ll forget it, Dick,” Harry said hold- 
ing out his hand to lift him up. Dick held it a minute 
and shook it like a pump handle. 

“You must have been harpooner on a whaler. You 
strike quicker than greased lightning. Mr. Macy, I’ll 
be glad to be friends with a man who can hit like 
that.” 

“We will be sailor friends, and save our fists for 
the British, if they give us a chance.” 

“If you give them many licks like that one, they’ll 
surrender pretty darned quick.” 

Harry laughed at that and went on, but as the days 
went by he was glad to see that Dick was doing his 
work with more steadfastness, and with a better feel- 
ing towards the officers, and before long he proved his 
friendship for Harry by coming to him with the infor- 


160 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


mation, that there was a spy in the camp. He said 
also that Sam had gone pardners with the spy, and 
he thought they were about to do some mischief. 

“Who is the spy? Would you know him again?” 

“He said his name was Bates, and he was from 
Philadelphia, an’ had come up here to buy land. But 
I know he was an old English tar. Fve seen too many 
of them not to know one when I see him. Yesterday 
Sam had no money. Today he has a dozen pieces 
tied up in his bandanna an’ stuck inside his frock.” 

“Where is this Bates now?” 

“He’s lying low som’eres, an’ I can’t spot him.” 

Harry took Dick to Perry’s quarters at Duncan’s 
tavern, where he told his story to the Commander. 
A few men were sent out to look for Bates and Sam, 
but neither could be found. Harry was sent to ask 
Mr. Dobbins to make a careful inspection of the brigs, 
and word was sent to Mr. Champlin to do the same 
at the yard where the gunboats were anchored. A 
heap of rubbish was found just under the brig, which 
was now all planked up, and Harry’s trained Nan- 
tucked nose detected the odor of whale oil as he came 
to it. 

“Here is the evidence, Mr. Dobbins.” They turned 
over the pile, and found shavings saturated with oil. 
No attempt had been made to light them. It was 
supposed the spy had intended to come at midnight, 
when the fire would get such a headway before an 


Harry Makes New Friends 


161 


alarm could be given that it could not be put out. Mr. 
Dobbins put Harry on guard near the dangerous spot, 
and extra guards were concealed near by to catch any 
suspicious persons who came about in the night. But 
there was no attempt made, and it was thought that 
the miscreants had taken the alarm and fled. This 
was found to be the case the next day. Two men had 
been seen to go up beyond the head of the harbor and 
it was supposed they had escaped in a boat concealed 
there, and joined the English fleet. 

Captain Perry was very much disturbed over this 
attempt to destroy his vessels, for in a few days he 
expected to join Commodore Chauncey in the attack 
on Fort George, at the mouth of the Niagara River on 
the Canadian side. He ordered an inspection of the 
yard every day, and that double guards should be 
posted every night on all the ships. 

The navy yard was a busy place now, for Com- 
modore Perry was pushing the work on his vessels 
with the utmost rapidity. He felt the loss of so many 
of his skilled seamen, who had been detained on Lake 
Ontario. He had hopes of regaining some of them 
after the fall of Ft. George, for he had not a fourth 
of the seamen necessary to man his fleet after it was 
completed. 

Harry Macy fully sympathized with the commander 
in his difficulties, and he took pains to describe them 
in his talks with Captain Chase, when he went out to 


162 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


spend an evening at his home. He knew what valu- 
able service he might give to the fleet both in equipping 
it, and in sailing out to meet the enemy. But Mr. 
Chase declared he had given up the sailor’s life, and 
intended to be a farmer the rest of his days; and 
that there was such a demand for grain at this time, 
that he wanted to raise a big crop on his farm this 
year, and “make his hay while the sun shone.” 

Harry did not believe him in spite of all his reason- 
ing. He knew how strong the passion for the sea 
was in every Nantucket man; and he could see it wa9 
working again in Mr. Chase, when he asked all about 
the progress of the ships in all the smallest details of 
their construction and equipment. So during the 
month of May he went out to the farm of his friends 
as often as possible for an evening visit. This was 
the reason he gave to himself, although it did not 
fully explain the great and unusual pleasure these 
little visits gave him. Towards the last of the month 
he was very glad that he had gone. 

It was on the 22nd of May that Captain Perry 
received his message from Commodore Chauncey, 
requesting him to come to Fort Niagara. The next 
day sailing-master Dobbins came to Harry and said, 

“I want you to go with me to Buffalo. Captain 
Perry wants a boat with four oarsmen. We will start 
before sunset, and, if we are not interrupted, keep on 
till we reach Buffalo. It will be a hard pull all night.” 


Harry Makes New Friends 


163 


Harry thought he knew what was about to take- 
place, although Mr. Dobbins did not explain the object 
of the journey, and, in hopes of a chance to join in 
the coming battle, he was glad that he had been 
chosen to go. 

“Have you picked out the other men to row?” 

“Henry Lacey and Tim Smith are good oarsmen. 
Who else would you suggest?” 

“Dick Riley is a strong fellow, and has good 
staying power.” 

“Yes, Dick will be a good one.” 

“He has turned out well lately. He has a great 
admiration for Captain Perry. The Commander is 
getting a strong influence over the men already.” 

“What a splendid officer he is ! And such a grand 
man ! It is a pleasure to serve under such a com- 
manding officer. But Dick thinks a good deal of you. 
I happened to overhear him standing up for you 
yesterday. How did you get hold of him so strong?” 

“By knocking him down, I reckon.” Mr. Dobbins 
insisted on hearing the story, and then asked Harry 
about Mr. Chase, and was deeply interested in what 
he learned of his seamanship. 

“IPs strange I never guessed it. He won’t stay on 
his farm. There will be more profit in the lake trade. 
You keep at him about volunteering for the fleet, and 
I will talk to Captain Perry about him. It will take 
a good many men to man this squadron, and the other 


164 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


gunboats now at Black Rock; and, unless the Com- 
modore sends down a strong reinforcement, we will 
be short-handed.” 

Harry had no time to go out to see his friends before 
he started late that evening, and it was nearly a month 
before he returned. They reached Buffalo before 
sunset the next day, very tired from the long pull at 
the oars. Here they rested until the next morning. 
When they entered the Niagara River their boat 
slipped along rapidly in the swift current, and they 
were rejoicing in their easy voyage, and did not think 
of danger. As they neared Grand Island men on 
shore signalled Captain Perry, and they turned to shore 
within hail. They learned that a company of forty 
men were posted on Grand Island, watching for him. 
After that they hugged the American shore, and so 
escaped being fired upon. But Captain Perry won- 
dered how the British had learned oi his movements. 
He did not think they had been informed from Erie, 
and thought the leak had come from Buffalo. He was 
more than ever convinced of the necessity of having a 
strong force to guard his vessels at Erie. 

It was raining, which probably aided in their present 
escape, although it added to the discomfort of the 
trip. At Fort Schlosser, a mile above the Falls, 
Captain Perry left the boat. He tried to find a horse, 
but there was none to be had, and he started on foot 
for Fort Niagara. He did not want a guard, but Mr. 


Harry Makes New Friends 


165 


Dobbins overruled him, and sent Harry along. Soora 
after Mr. Dobbins found an old cart horse, but there 
was no bridle, and the only saddle had no girths. The 
sailors soon knotted up a rope bridle, and Mr. Dobbins 
started after the captain. When he overtook him 
Captain Perry mounted, and saying he had no need of 
a guard, ordered Harry to return with Mr. Dobbins. 
This was a great disappointment to Harry, who 
thought he was sure of having a share in the attack on 
Fort George, and he asked Mr. Dobbins to request the 
captain to allow him to go on. But, although he saw 
his eagerness, Captain Perry still refused, but this time 
he gave his reasons. 

“It is better for you to return, Harry. I am myself 
only a volunteer in this adventure, and may have no 
command. You would be attached to some vessel, or 
regiment, and you might be ordered away with them, 
and in the confusion after the battle might not be 
permitted to return to Erie. I know you would con- 
duct yourself gallantly in the affair, and for that reason 
you might be taken away from me, and I don’t want to 
lose you. Now if we succeed, there is hard work be- 
fore us in getting those gunboats from Black Rock to 
Erie. Mr. Dobbins will need you to help him in mak- 
ing arrangements for that, so that they can be ready 
when I return.” 

“Your wish is a command, Captain Perry. I will 
not say another word.” 


166 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


The commander gave him a word of hearty approval 
and went on his way. Harry had one experience on the 
return which he never forgot. Mr. Dobbins followed 
the river bank instead of going by the road, and so 
Harry saw the grandeur of Niagara Falls and of the 
rapids above. After an hour spent here they went on 
their way to Fort Schlosser. Here Mr. Dobbins first 
spent his time in collecting all the small boats to bring 
the seamen up the river to Black Rock, when Captain 
Perry returned with his expected reinforcements. 

Mr. Dobbins on the way unfolded to Harry the im- 
portant task that was before them in the next two 
weeks. In the navy yard at Black Rock was the Cale- 
donia, the small brig of eight-five tons burden, and the 
four gunboats of about sixty tons, which had been al- 
tered for naval service, and were now ready to join the 
fleet at Erie. There were three serious difficulties to 
be overcome. First they were under the guns of Fort 
Erie on the Canada side, and might easily be destroyed 
when they were taken into the river. It would be nec- 
essary to capture Fort Erie or silence its guns before 
anything else could be done. 

Then the sloops must be towed up the rapids at the 
mouth of the river, and although it was only two miles 
it would be a hard task to do it. Then they would 
have to sail them to Erie, and if the English fleet was 
at Long Point it would be on the lookout for them, and 
if they made an attack there would be warm work for 


Harry Makes New Friends 


167 


every one aboard. Captain Perry would try to avoid 
a fight, but some treacherous person might carry infor- 
mation to the English, and if Captain Finnis should 
come after them with all his five well armed vessels 
our small gunboats would be very inferior in guns and 
men. Of course, Captain Perry expected Commodore 
Chauncey to send him a heavy reinforcement of sea- 
men and marines. 

“There is warm work before us, unless Captain 
Perry can outwit Captain Finnis. You may get a big- 
ger share of fighting than you would have at Fort 
George tomorrow.” 

Harry did not make much of a reply to this, for as 
he came into the near presence of grave difficulties and 
real war, he was less inclined to talk of what he would 
or could do. But he thought of many things, and they 
began to arrange themselves in his mind in a new or- 
der. He discriminated between the trivial matters, 
and those of real and lasting value. He was glad 
he had written home just before he started on this trip, 
and he would write again to his mother if he had a 
chance in a day or two. He would do his duty to the 
best of his ability wherever he was placed. This was 
a new sort of warfare in the west. You never knew 
what was going to happen, and had to learn to meet 
the enemy in very strange and unheard of conditions. 

Harry thought he would have to learn all he could 
of these new conditions, and be ready to do the right 


168 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


thing when the difficulties were to be met. He hoped 
to help his commander get these gunboats up to 
Presque Isle harbor. That might be of more real 
value to the country, then to join in an attack on a fort, 
or even to lead a company of men in scaling the walls. 
Then he thought of his friends near Erie. Would they 
learn of his part in the arduous task, if he should fall in 
a fight on the lake, or be captured by the British. He 
would like Ruth to know all about what he had done. 
Would she miss him very much? They had been play- 
mates and schoolmates, and now they were good 
friends. She would be sorry to lose him for all these 
reasons, but would she miss him in another way as 
more than a friend. 

As he thought of this Harry began to understand his 
own heart for the first time. Day and night he thought 
of Ruth. He wished he could have seen her once more 
before he came away. When they sailed into the harbor 
with the gunboats would she be there to see them ? Or 
would she wonder why he had not come to see her 
again, and think he had neglected her, and be grieved 
about it? Surely her father would learn where Harry 
had gone, and Ruth would understand why he could 
not come. When he was back again he would certainly 
go out to her home as often as he could, and she would 
know how much he cared for her. 

Mr. Dobbins wondered why Harry was so quiet as 
they journeyed back to Black Rock together; but he 


Harry Makes New Friends 


169 


made no effort to talk to him, being absorbed in his 
own plans for the work which the Commander had cut 
out for him. He thought it all out and had arranged 
it well in his mind, before they reached the shipyard. 
Then he said to his companion, 

“Macy, I think you have something on your mind. 
You must wake up now, and give your mind to your 
work. I shall rely on you as my right hand man, and 
you must have all your wits about you.” 

“I will give my mind to the work, sir. That was a 
long fit of thinking for a Nantucket man. We are 
practical men, Sir, and trained for quick action.” 

Mr. Dobbins then explained to Harry that he wanted 
to collect all the oxen and horses about Buffalo, and 
get them together at Black Rock in a week’s time. And 
they must get all the cables and ropes, for they would 
require several long cables in order to draw the loaded 
vessels up those strong rapids. This work Mr. Dob- 
bins was well fitted to accomplish for he had fine ex- 
ecutive abilities. He soon had obtained all the infor- 
mation necessary, and enlisted the men to go out to the 
farms and make the arrangements for the cattle. 

Meantime Captain Perry rain-soaked and weary 
reached the Madison that evening, and received a 
hearty welcome on board the flagship. Commodore 
Chauncey called a council of war. The embarkation 
of the troops, for which a great many small boats had 
been built, was a difficult task. Captain Perry was 


170 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


asked to oversee it. But he found that no well con- 
sidered plan for this had been adopted, and the officers 
were not inclined to follow his suggestions. If a sharp 
resistance to the crossing of the river was made by the 
British, there would be confusion and a possible disas- 
ter. After the conference broke up he told the Com- 
modore he could not direct the embarkation and cross- 
ing unless he was given entire command of it. With- 
out such authority, his plans would not be carried out. 
If there was a disaster the blame of it would be thrown 
upon him. However, he offered to assist in the at- 
tack, and render such help as he could. 

Fortunately the enemy failed to make a strong re- 
sistance to the landing. The embarkation was effect- 
ed very early in the morning of the 27th. Captain 
Perry was afloat with the troops, and, seeing the line 
was very uneven, and confusion probable, he pulled in 
and out among the boats, directing them into their 
proper places, so that they advanced without confusion 
in crossing the river and debarking. Then having ob- 
served where the British troops were lined up, waiting 
to repel the Americans when they ascended the steep 
bank above the river, he pulled off to the Hamilton, 
and directed the fire of that vessel to such good effect, 
that the heavy force of the enemy was obliged to re- 
tire, and permit the advance of the American troops 
under command of Colonel Winfield Scott. 


Harry Makes New Friends 


171 


The attack was everywhere carried forward with 
celerity and spirit. The guns of the fort and batteries 
were silenced by the fleet, and the fort itself was cap- 
tured by Scott who with his own hands pulled down 
the British flag. The British troops retired and Col- 
onel Scott, who was pressing the pursuit, was recalled 
by Colonel Dearborn. The Niagara frontier was now 
abandoned by the British forces, and the evacuation of 
Fort Erie was a necessary consequence. 

And now Mr. Dobbins found his work was getting 
exciting and hot. For on the night of the battle, which 
they knew was going on, for they could hear the can- 
nonading, the English batteries opened a heavy fire on 
Black Rock. Colonel Preston in command there took 
every precaution to protect the gunboats and stores. 
He could not know what the attack meant, but thought 
it was a cover for evacuation, and when toward morn- 
ing the sound of a heavy explosion shook the buildings 
of Black Rock and Buffalo he knew that the British 
had destroyed the fort. He gathered up the boats 
and crossed with the Twelfth Regiment and took pos- 
session of Fort Erie. The way was now open to haul 
the gunboats up the rapids into the lake. 


Chapter XV. 

The Launching. 

Captain Perry returned to Black Rock a few days 
later, very much encouraged by his interviews with 
Commodore Chauncey and his officers. The Commo- 
dore had given him a hearty welcome, and in his report 
of the engagement had made special mention of the 
valuable assistance rendered by him. But, best of all, 
he now assigned to his command several able naval 
officers and fifty seamen, and sent back with him a 
force of two hundred marines under command of Cap- 
tain Brevoort. 

When Captain Perry reached Black Rock he found 
that Mr. Dobbins, with his usual prompt and efficient 
efforts, had the preparations well in hand for getting 
out the gunboats into the lake. The loading of the 
supplies was now rapidly completed and on the 6th of 
June the oxen and men began to haul the Caledonia up 
the rapids. It was hard and slow work, for the cur- 
rent was between six and seven knots. Early and late 
the work went on and on the 12th of June the last gun- 
boat was moored at Buffalo. Here more supplies had 
to be taken aboard, and the men who were worn out 
were allowed a rest. Captain Perry needed rest more 
than any of them, for the exposure in the heavy rain, 
172 


The Launching 


173 


and the efforts he made in the battle, and his 
constant supervision of this work had brought 
on a severe attack of bilious fever. Fortunately Dr. 
Usher Parsons, the assistant surgeon of the fleet, was 
with him at Buffalo, and watched over him with the 
utmost care. 

On the 19th June the little squadron set sail with a 
head wind that held them back, so that they only made 
twenty-five miles. Perry was on the Caledonia, which 
was armed with three guns. The Ohio, from this time 
under command of Sailing-Master Dobbins, followed 
the flagship. It was armed with one long twenty- 
four pounder. The other vessels were the Somers, one 
long twenty-four and one long twelve-pounder; the 
Amelia and the Trippe each one long thirty-two pound- 
er. The officers were Sailing-Masters Almy, Holdup, 
and Darling. 

Perry sailed close in-shore to avoid the observation 
of the enemy, who was probably looking for him. Cap- 
tain Finnis had five vessels, larger than Perry’s, and 
armed with forty-four guns. Such an unequal com- 
bat must be avoided if possible, although Perry made 
the best arrangements to beat off the enemy if they 
made an attack. On the second day a man on the 
bluff signalled to Perry. When brought aboard he 
said that the English fleet was in the offing, looking for 
him, but its movements showed that they had not yet 
discovered his position. Perry sailed on with more 


174 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


caution, and, in spite of light winds and his own ex- 
hausted condition, on the fourth day brought his little 
squadron safely over the bar into Presque Isle harbor. 
Just as he approached the entrance Captain Finnis bore 
up under full sail, but he was too late to intercept 
Perry’s flotilla. The success of this enterprise was so 
pleasing to Captain Perry, that it helped him to get 
over his fever. 

It was on the 22nd of June when he entered the har- 
bor, and he found the work on the brigs had been 
pushed along rapidly. On the 24th the first brig, 
afterwards named the Lawrence, was ready for launch- 
ing. So many of Perry’s men were sick, one-half of 
his one hundred and ten seamen, that he thought a lit- 
tle celebration would be good for them. The news was 
spread around the country, that the brig would be 
launched the next day. The people of the village took 
a deep interest in it, for it was the first event of that 
kind to take place in their harbor, and their local pride 
was also great, because their townsman, Captain Dob- 
bins, had so large a share in it. He had cut and pre- 
pared the timber, and laid the keel of the brigs, and al- 
most built the gunboats before Captain Perry arrived. 
And they came out in crowds to see the launching in 
order to honor Captain Dobbins. 

Harry Macy had gone out to see Ruth the first even- 
ing after his return, although he had but a short time to 
stay. But on the second day after, he got away from 


The Launching 


175 


duty at 6 o’clock and was soon on his way to the farm. 
He found Ruth in the little orchard, and they went for 
a walk over the hills and down by the bank of Mill 
Creek. He told her of his loneliness while he was 
gone, and how hard it was to be away so long, and how 
the remembrance of the happy days he had spent in her 
home had cheered him up in those days of hard and 
unremitting labor. He thought her eye glistened with 
a little more than its usual brightness, and once or 
twice a fleeting wave of color seemed to pass over her 
cheek, but she spoke in a calm tone, with a free expres- 
sion of how much they had all missed him. If Harry 
thought she would respond more fully to his own feel- 
ing he was much mistaken, and his heart sank as he 
tried to discover the signs of her interest in him. 

“She does not love me! Can there be any one else?” 
he said to himself. “I must wait, and try harder to 
win her love.” 

When they went back to the house Harry told Mr. 
Chase all about the launching and asked him to come 
down. 

“Of course I will. I can’t spare the time very well, 
but I will come, and bring all the family. I will have 
to get up an hour earlier every day for a week to make 
up for the time I will lose.” 

“If Tecumseh and Proctor should invade Erie, you 
might lose all your summer’s work. It is to save Erie 


176 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


and other villages from them, that Captain Perry is 
building the fleet.” 

“That’s true every word of it, Harry. I appreciate 
what he is doing for us. And I am glad Mr. Dobbins 
has been such a help to him.” 

When he was going away Harry asked Ruth if she 
could not spend the day in the village with some of her 
friends. He thought he could get off late in the after- 
noon or at least in the evening, and he would like to 
take her out on the water. He knew James Patterson 
would like to go, and perhaps they could make up a 
party of four for a boat ride. Ruth was delighted, and 
said several of her girl friends would want her to stay 
with them, and she would think it over and they could 
make their plans the next morning when they met on 
the brig. 

As Harry was working under Mr. Brown’s direc- 
tions, making the final preparations for the launching 
Captain Perry came near. Harry took a moment to 
introduce Mr. Chase, as an old friend from Nantucket, 
who had sailed a ship for years. 

“Indeed. I am glad to meet Captain Chase, and I 
remember that Mr. Dobbins has spoken of you to me. 
It is not unlikely that you can be of service to us, Mr. 
Chase. Come aboard the brig, and see how she will 
slip into the water. And is this your daughter?” 
he said, turning to Ruth who had come up to her fath- 
er’s side, hoping to be introduced to Captain Perry. 


The Launching 


177 


Mr. Chase introduced Ruth, saying “She’s a real 
sailor’s lass.” Then Captain Perry said, 

“I think you are the sweet singer at our little church. 
Come on board, and give us a song, while she dips her 
nose into the water. I would like to have her chris- 
tened, but Secretary Jones has not selected a name for 
my flagship yet. We could hardly christen a vessel 
that was not named, could we, Miss Ruth?” 

“I would not feel like singing alone, Captain Perry. 
Are there not some others who could join in a song?” 

“What would be appropriate?” 

“Hail Columbia is pretty well known. There is 
Miss Sally Taylor and Mr. Reid. They are good sing- 
ers, and Harry Macy, down there has a fine tenor. 
We could start it off, and the rest would join in.” 

“Macy shall come, if Mr. Brown can spare him.” 

Soon Harry came up and a crowd of young people 
moved towards the ladders, and were helped to mount 
to the deck. Then some of the oldest citizens were 
asked to come up. And the spruce young naval officers 
wanted to join the chorus of singers, and to be intro- 
duced to Miss Chase, who seemed to be the belle of this 
occasion. Mr. Champlin came up, bringing with him 
Lieutenant Brooks of the company of marines. But 
Ruth kept Harry by her side, and did not let the atten- 
tions of the fine officers in their gay uniforms turn her 
head. 


178 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


The props were knocked away, and the gallant little 
vessel slipped down the ways, and Ruth’s voice soared 
sweet and high and Harry’s tenor gave her a fine ac- 
companiment. There was great cheering, and the peo- 
ple crowded around the commander with their congrat- 
ulations, and Mr. Dobbins also received his full share 
of that recognition which his work deserved. 

Soon Mr. Brown set his men to work again, and 
Harry reluctantly was obliged to leave Ruth surround- 
ed by a circle of gayly dressed officers, while he laid 
aside his muster jacket and white trousers, and dressed 
in his work clothes pulled on the cables to draw the 
brig back to a rude pier. Then a squad of men rolled 
the masts on board and others began to set up the 
tackle to lift them to their places. The people seeing 
they were in the way gradually dispersed. 

When the evening gun at the redoubt was fired, 
Harry’s duties for the day were over. After a hasty 
supper he put on his mustering suit, and was tying 
his black bow with unusual care when James Patterson 
appeared. 

“Hurry up, slow coach. The girls are waiting, and 
wondering if you have forgotten them, and gone off 
with some other beauties.” 

“Ruth knows better than that. You haven’t seen 
them since noon.” 

“Haven’t I? I just came by Sally Taylor’s house, and 
she was about ready to take some captain’s invitation, 


The Launching 


179 


but I assured her you would be there in a few min- 
utes.” 

“That’s all blarney, Jim. The girls are at the sup- 
per table.” 

“Jiminy cricketts, Harry, but you are a slow head. 
You don’t know what a fine plan those girls have 
hatched out this afternoon.” 

“Mr. Brown has kept me on the jump till the last 
minute. How could I know of any change in the plans. 
What is it? Ruth is not one to change her mind. 
Aren’t we going out on the bay?” Harry asked very 
much disturbed by Jim’s adroit teasing. 

“If you don’t know I won’t tell you. Come along. 
Your bow is all smooth.” 

Harry took another look at himself in the little mir- 
ror, and then took out his low shiny hat, and the two 
young men hurried up the hill. Jim was right about 
the girls, for they were impatiently waiting on the little 
porch. And just then Mr. Champlin and Lieutenant 
Brooks turned the corner and approached the gate. 
Harry’s heart sank, and he feared his anticipations of a 
delightful evening were about to be spoiled. 

Lieutenant Brooks was one of the handsomest men 
Harry had ever seen, and a fine fellow in e^ery way. 
He was the life of every company he was in, and sure 
to be surrounded by a crowd of young people whenever 
he was not on duty. If he should seek to pursue 
his acquaintance with Ruth Chase, Harry was afraid 


180 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Ruth would yield to his fascinations, and be drawn 
away from himself. He did not think there would 
be much chance of winning her if Mr. Brooks should 
come in his way. Still Harry was spurred up to make 
every effort to succeed, and certainly he would not let 
the girls slip out of the engagement for this evening. 

Ruth saved him from all uneasiness, however. She 
did not feel quite sure of Sally, but she knew that noth- 
ing should spoil Harry’s evening. So she took the 
lead in the talk that followed the entrance of the 
officers, and they soon learned that the young ladies 
had an engagement for the evening. They asked for 
another appointment for a sail on the harbor, and after 
that was arranged they dallied and lingered. Mr. 
Brooks was evidently smitten, and would have stayed 
longer, but Mr. Champlin had too much respect for 
Harry and James to interrupt their evening’s enjoy- 
ment, and he carried Brooks away. 

And now some baskets were brought out of the 
house, and Harry learned that they were to have their 
supper on a mossy bank on the other side of the bay. 
The two young men exerted themselves to give the 
girls the best time they had ever had. They sailed 
over the moonlit waters, and sang the old Nantucket 
songs, and an hour later had their simple supper, and 
afterward a dance on the grass. It was nine o’clock 
when they drew up again at the pier near Mill Creek. 


The Launching 


181 


Then there was more music and gay talk after they 
reached Sally’s home. 

Ruth was invited and urged to stay with Sally for a 
visit of two or three days. But she said, if Harry 
could take her home, she must go back that evening. 
Harry had secured permission to remain out after tat- 
too for this evening, and he was glad that Ruth wanted 
to go home, for they would have a quiet talk on the 
way. 

'They both were tired, and they dropped their gay 
spirits as they started off, but their talk was serious 
and a more perfect revealing of their best thoughts and 
aspirations. It was not long before Harry realized 
that Ruth was giving him the opportunity that he had 
hoped for earlier in the spring. There was nothing in 
her talk that was unmaidenly, or inconsistent with 
modesty, but Harry felt that in her own bright way 
she had put him entirely at ease, and opened the way 
for him to talk about himself. 

He was not slow to avail himself of the opportunity. 
He told her how he had grown to love her, and asked 
her to give him her love. 

“I cannot do that, Harry,” she answered with a 
smile, and suddenly Harry felt as if the door of Para- 
dise was being shut in his face, after he had been given 
a peep into its beautiful fields. 

“Why Ruth? Do you not love me? I had begun to 
hope you would be mine.” 


182 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Dear Harry, you did not let me finish what I was 
saying. I meant, I could not give you my love now, 
because you had won it already. Long ago, I think 
way back in Nantucket, I began to love you when we 
were children/’ 

“Oh Ruth ! how happy you make me ! I was afraid I 
would lose you when those handsome officers began to 
find you out.” 

“Jealous already, Harry? Then I know you love me 
vey much. But you need not fear the officers. They 
are not of my world, and I have no mind to let them 
amuse themselves with a simple country maiden like 
me, and then forget me when the summer is over. No ! 
I want one of my own people, whose sterling qualities 
I know and can trust.” 

“I hope I may always be worthy of you, Ruth. And 
I hope when this war is over I can come back to you 
sound in body, and with the means to make us a good 
home.” 

They sat down on the step of the cabin and talked 
for an hour of their hopes, and made their plans for the 
future. But Harry could not stay longer than that, 
for his work would be hard on the morrow. More 
than once he started, and returned for another linger- 
ing good-by, but at last he broke away. The lights 
were out in the village as he drew near. He could 
hear the sentinel on his beat, and the guard on the gun- 
boats and on the Caledonia. He looked over the har- 


The Launching 


183 


bor, flooded with moonlight. It made him think of 
Nantucket, and home, and his mother. And it spoke 
well for the young man that before he turned in, his 
last thoughts were of his mother. 


Chapter XVI. 

Give Me Men! 

The last week in June was a time of unusual activity 
in the shipyard, for Mr. Brown was pushing the work 
of finishing the second brig. This would have been 
accomplished by the end of the month, if so many men 
had not been sick. The sails for all the vessels had 
been made in the courthouse, the only room in the vil- 
lage large enough for such a purpose. And this was 
pushed along by James Patterson and Harry Macy go- 
ing out among the women and enlisting their services. 
Now the court room was needed for a hospital for the 
sick men, and Surgeon Parsons was kept busy endeav- 
oring to cure them of these fevers, which took away 
strength and spirit. 

The men who were working thought Mr. Brown has 
no mercy on them. It was hot, very hot, but he drove 
them along as if it was December. When they grum- 
bled about the heat he told them gruffly, 

“I am going to finish this vessel in ten days. I want 
to get her off the stays by the first of July. Certainly 
it will not be later than the 4th.” 

“We will all be in the hospital by that time, if you 
drive us so hard,” said Dick Riley. 

“No you will not, if you follow Dr. Parson’s advice 
184 


Give Me Men! 


185 


about your eating. It’s not hard work that will hurt 
you, but eating green fruit and early vegetables. Stick 
to the regular rations and you will not get the fever/' 

When Mr. Brown went over to the first brig he took 
Harry to task. 

“You are spending too much time on this interior 
finish, Macy. We don’t need this fine work in fitting 
up the cabins, and dressing down the stuff for the lock- 
ers. You must get on faster.” 

“The commander’s cabin ought to be fitted up very 
neatly. He is used to having his quarters very com- 
fortable and neat. And he deserves to have the best.” 

“We are not building a permanent fleet for the navy. 
It would only be used to conquer and capture the Brit- 
ish fleet. One battle will probably decide the issue. 
If Perry wins, these vessels will not be needed. If 
he loses and they are captured, we don’t want to spend 
time making them fine for the enemy.” 

“The British will never capture Perry’s battleships.” 

“Make a good, strong, and perfect job, but don’t 
waste your time on extra polishing.” 

Harry replied that Captain Perry was the most per- 
fect gentleman he ever knew, and it was only right he 
should have a nice cabin; but Mr. Brown would not 
agree, saying that Perry was most anxious to get the 
fleet finished and over the bar. 

The next morning Mr. Brown took Harry off the job. 
and gave him a more responsible task on the second 


186 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


brig. It was late Saturday night when she was in 
shape for launching. The next day was July 4th, and 
the men expected a holiday, but Captain Perry ordered 
the brig to be launched in the morning. He had just 
received an urgent appeal from General Harrison to 
come to his relief, and a letter from the Secretary of the 
Navy, ordering him to co-operate with General Harri- 
son at the earliest possible date. No ceremony 
marked the launching of the second brig, out of respect 
for the sacredness of the day. A hearty cheer greeted 
her as she entered the water. She was brought around 
to her position and anchored, fore and aft, and then 
the men were dismissed for the rest of the day. 

A week later the fleet was finished, the masts had 
been stepped, the yards slung, the rigging completed, 
and the sails stretched. Then came the work of get- 
ting the guns on board, and the fitting of the gun car- 
riages to their slides, and the storing of the magazines, 
and getting all the extra spars, blocks, sails and cord- 
age neatly put away in the proper places. For these 
brigs, which were the largest vessels of the fleet, were, 
after all, but small in their dimensions, and when the 
crew and marines were on board, the whole space 
would be occupied, and it would only be by the utmost 
order that there would be room for the movement of 
the sailors in handling the vessel, or the gun crews in 
drill and practice with the guns. 

General Harrison had received information that 


Give Me Men! 


187 


Proctor and Tecomtha, with several thousand soldiers 
and Indians were about to besiege Fort Meigs on the 
Maumee River. If Perry could come out on the lake, 
and engage the British fleet, they would be unable to 
obtain supplies for so large a body of men, and would 
not dare to leave Detroit. 

General Harrison also informed Perry that the Brit- 
ish were now building a large ship at Detroit, which 
would be superior to any of his vessels in size and 
armament. Also, that Captain Robert H. Barclay, a 
veteran of the English naval service, who served under 
Nelson at Trafalgar, had been sent out from England, 
and had assumed command of the English fleet in Lake 
Erie. 

This news made Perry chafe under his forced inac- 
tion. If he could only get out and pursue Barclay be- 
fore that large ship was finished, he would feel sure of 
destroying the English fleet. Then upon the horizon 
appeared one sail after another, until he saw all Bar- 
clay’s ships sailing back and forth, reconnoitering his 
position, and bearding him to come out and fight. But 
Perry could not accept the gage of battle, for although 
his fleet was finished, he had not more men than suffi- 
cient to man his flagship, which was now named the 
Lawrence by order of Secretary Jones. This was in 
commemoration of Captain James Lawrence, who fell 
in the gallant fight of the Chesapeake with the Shan- 


non. 


188 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Chafing under this delay at such a critical time, 
Perry wrote to Commodore Chauncey July 19th. 

“The enemy’s fleet of six sail is now off the bar of 
this harbor. What a golden opportunity if we had 
men. Their object is, no doubt, either to blockade or 
attack us or to carry provisions and reinforcements to 
Malden. Should it be to attack us, I am ready to meet 
them. I am constantly looking to the eastward. 
Every mail and every traveller from that quarter is 
looked to as a harbinger of the glad tidings of our men 
being on the way. 

“Give me men, Sir, and I will acquire for you, and 
for myself, honor and glory on this lake, or perish in 
the attempt. Conceive my feelings ! An enemy within 
striking distance, my vessels ready, and not men 
enough to man them. Going out with these I now 
have is out of the question. You would not suffer it 
if you were here. Think of my situation ; the enemy in 
sight; the vessels under my command more than suf- 
ficient, and ready to make sail, and yet I am obliged to 
bite my fingers with vexation for want of men.” 

This letter reveails one of the great master passions 
of Perry’s life, the thirst for glory in the naval service. 
In this he was like Mad Anthony Wayne, whose mind 
and heart was fired by the aspiration for military glory. 
The two men were alike in their careful preparation for 
their brilliant achievements; in the perfect drill and 
complete equipment of their commands, and in looking 


Give Me Men! 


189 


after every detail necessary to success. There was also 
a marked resemblance between the two men in that un- 
usual quality of exciting the spirit of their men, and 
filling them with that enthusiasm, which made them 
undertake cheerfully the greatest hardships, and in the 
hour of conflict fight like heroes. 

But some relief was on the way. On the 17th of 
July he sent Mr. Dobbins in the Ohio to Buffalo to 
bring down supplies and reinforcements. He had 
learned to trust Mr. Dobbins because of his knowledge 
and skill in sailing on Lake Erie, and because of his 
caution in avoiding the enemy’s sail. Mr. Dobbins se- 
lected a good crew and appointed Harry Macy boat- 
swain. In five days they returned with seventy men, 
and Barclay did not discover the sail in time to inter- 
cept them. 

This last lot of men were not a valuable body of sea- 
men. They looked to Perry like the left-overs, after 
all the good men had been picked out for the Ontario 
fleet. While Dobbins was away in this service Cap- 
tain Perry saw that the English fleet was becalmed 
on the 21st of July. He took the clipper-built schoon- 
er, Ariel, and two of his gunboats and went out on the 
lake to try out his men. They exchanged shots with 
the enemy, and Perry saw that his long guns had the 
advantage, but in an hour he bore off and returned to 
the harbor, leaving a ball in the missen mast of the 
Queen Charlotte. 


190 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Perry was bitterly disappointed at the apparent in- 
difference of Commodore Chauncey to his inadequate 
force to man the fleet, and the necessity of at once sup- 
porting General Harrison. He wrote again complain- 
ing of the poor quality of the last men. 

“For God’s sake, and yours, and mine, send me men 
and officers, and I will have the British fleet in a day 
or two. Commodore Barclay keeps just out of reach 
of our gunboats. The vessels are all ready to meet the 
enemy the moment they are officered and manned. 
Our sails are bent, provisions on board, and in fact 
everything is ready. Barclay has been bearding me 
for several days and I long to be at him.” 

Then in this letter Perry gave expression to the 
deepest feelings in his heart, that true love of his coun- 
try, which was greater than the thirst for glory. He 
fully realized that the time had come to strike the en- 
emy, and with generous self-denial he was willing to 
waive his own claim to the chief command, if only 
the needed men were sent. 

“However anxious I am to reap the reward of the 
labor and anxiety I have had on this station, I shall 
rejoice, whoever commands, to see this force on the 
lake; and surely I had rather be commanded by my 
friend, than by any other. Come, then, and the busi- 
ness is decided in a few hours.” 

But as he received another appeal from General 
Harrison, and had no promise of men from Ontario, 


Give Me Men! 


191 


Captain Perry called for volunteers for the fleet, and 
for the marines, from the men of Erie. The two hun- 
dred marines had long ago been recalled to Ontario, 
but Captain Brevoort, who was from Detroit, was or- 
dered to remain. Lieutenant Brooks had enlisted a 
strong company, and they were now a well-drilled body 
of soldiers. 

At this time the commander at Black Rock warned 
him that there was danger of an attack on Erie, for the 
enemy were gathering a strong force at Long Point, 
near the eastern end of Lake Erie. Captain Perry no- 
tified General Mead, commander of the militia in west- 
ern Pennsylvania, and he posted a brigade of fifteen 
hundred men near to Erie, and set the men to hard 
drill. Perry also strengthened the redoubts and 
mounted more guns. 

Barclay’s fleet had gone west to aid Proctor’s attack 
on Fort Meigs, and Perry resolved to man his fleet with 
volunteers of landsmen. So he called for men to en- 
list for a short cruise on the lake and put the men who 
enlisted to careful instruction in a sailor’s duties. He 
planned to get his fleet out into the lake as soon as the 
men had learned their work sufficiently to manage 
the fleet. He made use of the young men he had 
trained on the Newport station, promoting them to the 
warrant offices. In this way Harry Macy was promot- 
ed to be boatswain, and James Patterson became 
master’s mate. 


192 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Bos’n Macy, the commander wants you at head- 
quarters,” Mr. Dobbins said one morning late in July, 
as Harry was drilling an awkward squad on the Law- 
rence. He turned the men over to a sergeant, and 
went ashore and up to Duncan’s Tavern. He was ad- 
mitted at once by the orderly, and kindly received by 
the commander. 

“I have sent for you, Boatswain, to ask if it would 
be possible to induce Mr. Chase to join the fleet. I 
would like to ask first about his qualifications as a sea- 
man.” 

“He is an experienced seaman, Sir. He was mate 
on a whaler for a three years voyage, and after that 
was captain of a coasting schooner, and has crossed the 
ocean several times in the merchant service. When 
the embargo killed the coasting trade he gave up the 
sea, and came west.” 

“He is the right kind of a man for us. I need more 
experienced officers. Mine are mostly young men. 
Would Captain Chase be cautious and reliable?” 

“Yes, Sir. He is a sailor you could depend on in 
storm or calm.” 

“I had hoped he would accept the general call I 
made for volunteers. But as he has not done so, and 
you are a friend of the family, I want to ask if it would 
be worth while to make an effort to get him.” 

“I am sure he would like to join the fleet. The 
building of the vessels has stirred up his interest in a 


Give Me Men! 


193 


sailor’s life and he sees the need of men to fight the 
British. But his farm work is chaining him down to 
the land, and he has not seen a way to leave it.” 

“I wish he would come to see me. I want to talk to 
him. I would like you to tell him so.” 

“I will do so, if you wish, and endeavor to persuade 
him to join.” 

“You may take the afternoon after four o’clock until 
eight bells. That will not be an unpleasant service, 
will it, Macy?” 

There was a fine color on Harry’s face as he replied, 

“I thank you kindly, Captain Perry. If I can, I will 
persuade him to enlist, and his family to consent to his 
going.” 

“Very well. That is all.” 

Four o’clock found Harry all ready for his special 
duty, and he put the matter to Mr. Chase as soon as 
he reached the farm. Mr. Chase took it seriously and 
heard all Harry had to say, but without making any 
comment. Before sundown Harry went with Ruth to 
hunt for the cows in the woods along Mill Creek. 
They were both more sober than usual, for they 
realized that it could not be long now before a severe 
battle would take place, and that when the fleet sailed 
out to meet the enemy the separation might be a final 
one for them. It seemed very terrible that night to 
Ruth. Father and lover might both be killed, and 
buried in the lake or on some distant point on the 


194 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


shore. She looked at Harry with wistful eyes, but 
thoughts too deep for words were in her mind, and she 
knew that if Harry spoke the tender words that were 
on his tongue, she would break down. And Harry 
saw and understood, and made a brave effort to be 
cheerful for her sake. For Harry had gained such 
confidence in his commander, that he felt certain of 
his victory over Barclay, and he had all the hopefulness 
of youth that he would go through the battle without 
loss of life or limb. 

Soon after sunset Harry said he must return at eight 
bells, and then Mr. Chase talked about the enlist- 
ing. 

“1 think it right Erie men should have their part in 
this campaign. We have helped build the fleet, and 
now we should help in the fight. If Perry had re- 
ceived all the men he needed, then eastern men would 
have won the victory for us, which would not be a fair 
arrangement. I will have to go, Harry. If Perry 
should be short-handed and lose the fight, and if 
Barclay should land a horde of Indians here, I might 
lose, not only my crop, but my home and my family. 
I would rather trust my dear ones to my own country- 
men. If I fall, I will leave them to your care, my son. 
Tell Captain Perry I will come to see him early in the 
morning.” 

Ruth followed Harry as he left the cabin. Under 
the maple tree she laid her head on his shoulder, and 










* 
































































* 













YOU MUST BE BRAVE, RUTH 


Give Me Men! 


195 


gave way to the grief she had till then repressed. 
Harry comforted her with words and tender caresses, 
as he held her closely in his strong arms. And before 
long his hopeful assurances quieted her, and she felt 
ashamed of her weakness. 

“You must be brave, Ruth. Do not unman me, or 
your father. Encourage him to go with Perry, for he 
needs him.” 

“I will, Harry. Forgive me if I have given way to 
my weak heart, for I love you so, and to lose you 
would rob me of all that is best in life.” 

“But we are coming back. Be sure of that. And 
you can help us win a victory by putting your brave 
spirit into us. You always were a brave girl, Ruth. 
How many times I have seen you on the water when 
other girls would have been scared to death, and you 
rejoiced in the excitement. Be like yourself now, for 
my sake.” 

“I will be brave, Harry. I do not know what came 
over me tonight to make me so weak. All at once I 
seemed to see you lying on the Lawrence, dead or 
wounded, and the beautiful ship drifting a helpless 
wreck.” 

“That's all your imagination. Think how gloriously 
she will sail in again with the British fleet following 
as our prize.” 

But Harry’s time was now up and he was obliged to 
tear himself away from Ruth, and hasten back to the 


196 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Lawrence, for the discipline now was very strict, and 
he would not dare to stay out beyond the hour of 
tatoo. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


Crossing the Bar. 

Harry Macy was not at his post to pipe down the 
hammocks, but at two bells or tatoo, he was on his 
station and called, 

“All hands, stand by your hammocks.” But for a 
long time after the lights were put out by the master- 
at-arms, Harry lay awake, and thought of the life 
before him. He had come to Erie little more than a 
grown-up boy, who had been faithful to his family, 
and had improved all his opportunities for study and 
growth. But today there had come upon him a far 
greater sense of responsibility. He had now promised 
to watch over and care for Ruth Chase, and when his 
term of service expired he would make a home for 
her. The full sense of what he had assumed came to 
him for the first time, when this strong and self-reliant 
young woman leaned upon him, overcome by the fear 
of injury or death in the coming battle. 

This day made a man of Harry Macy, and if he bore 
his part in the conflict with greater skill and steadier 
courage than some others, it was because he had heard 
and understood this higher call upon his manhood. 

The next morning Mr. Chase came in to see Captain 
Perry. He did not ask for an important position, but 
197 


198 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


was willing to take any place, where he could serve 
most efficiently. The commander perceived at once 
what a valuable recruit he had secured, and appointed 
him sailing-master of the Caledonia, and two days 
later he assumed his duties. And it was well for 
Captain Perry in that murderous onslaught, which was 
made on the flagship, when her sister brig hung back 
out of the carnage, that there were competent and 
skilled officers on the Caledonia, who could bring her 
so efficiently to the help of the Lawrence. 

Now it happened at the end of July that Barclay’s 
fleet disappeared, and Captain Perry took advantage of 
his absence to get his brigs over the bar. Sunday, 
August 1st. was a clear, beautiful day, with a strong 
wind from the east, which drove the water back in the 
lake, so that there was less water than usual on the 
bar. Instead of six feet there was less than five. The 
gunboats were all sent down and anchored in the outer 
bay. Mr. Dobbins sounded the channel, which was a 
tortuous one, and charted it, and then placed buoys to 
mark it. 

The Lawrence was then brought down from her 
moorings and kedged out on the bar. Her guns, bal- 
last, stores, and all heavy material were taken off and 
piled up on the beach. The guns were not loaded, for 
it would have been dangerous to move them. They 
were rolled up on timbers, so that they could be 
quickly reshipped when it was necessary. 


Crossing the Bar 


199 


Then the Niagara was kedged up close to the bar, 
with her port broadside facing the outer roadstead. 
Here she was moored with spring cables, by which she 
could easily change her position, and was in readiness 
to defend her sister ship, if Barclay made an attack 
while she was on the bar. 

The people of the neighborhood were expecting 
serious events to occur, and on this Sunday afternoon 
they crowded into the little village. Nor were they 
disappointed. For General Mead marched in with his 
brigade, and encamped on the heights above the 
harbor. He and his staff were received with great 
ceremony on board the Lawrence by Captain Perry and 
his officers, and a salute of fifteen guns fired. 

By invitation of the commander, the Reverend 
Robert Reid, pastor of the Associate Reformed Pres- 
byterian Church, who had acted as the chaplain in the 
shipyard, had come on board the Lawrence after she 
had been brought to the bar. The militia and people 
had flocked down to the beach at the entrance to the 
harbor, and standing near the point they were within 
hearing of a strong voice on the Lawrence. Captain 
Perry then in a few words spoke of the importance of 
the United States obtaining command of Lake Erie, 
and that for this purpose this fleet had been built. The 
divine blessing was essential in this great undertaking 
for the safety of the people in the west, and therefore 
he would now ask the Chaplain to invoke the blessing 


200 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


of God upon this final work of getting the fleet into 
the lake, and upon the part it would talee in the impend- 
ing conflict with the enemy. All heads were bowed, 
and the large crowd stood reverently listening, while 
that impressive prayer was offered. At sundown they 
dispersed to their homes, realizing something of the 
great interests that were at stake in this undertaking, 
and many prayers went up that night, that Captain 
Perry might be successful in his battle for their country 
and their homes. 

To get the brigs over the bar, Mr. Brown had 
provided two camels, which were oblong scows, ninety 
feet long, forty feet wide, and with six feet depth of 
hold. The deck was built strong enough to support 
the weight of the brig. There were two holes in the 
bottom, with long plugs to fit them. Before daylight 
Monday morning the camels were brought alongside 
the Lawrence, one on each side, and the plugs drawn. 
They filled and rested on the bottom. Long heavy 
spars were run through the port holes of the brig, 
sticking out on each side over the decks of the camels. 
The camels were lashed together, so that they could 
not spread apart, and be forced away from the brig 
by its weight. The spars were blocked up and secured, 
the plugs were then driven in, and a hundred men were 
set to work, pumping out the water. The camels rose 
as the water went down, lifting up the brig with them. 


Crossing the Bar 


201 


When they were empty, all were drawn along by 
cables. 

But the east wind still continued, and the brig stuck 
on the center of the bar. So the plugs were drawn 
again and more blocks were driven under the spars, 
and when the camels were floated again they carried 
the brig over the bar. But it was slow work and went 
on night and day continuously for two days. Early 
Wednesday morning the Lawrence was afloat in the 
outer, harbor. By two o’clock all her guns were 
mounted, supplies on board, and her crew were aboard 
ready for action, and a salute was fired. 

Meantime the Niagara had been kedged up to the 
bar, and prepared for floating over in the same way. 
Her guns however were mounted on the beach ready 
to join in the defence of the fleet, for it was not believed 
that Barclay would let them finish their work un- 
hindered. 

“What is Barclay doing? Where is Barclay?” were 
the questions on many lips as the third day passed 
without his fleet appearing. 

“Boys, I am very thankful that Barclay has not 
discovered us at work,” said Captain Perry to the crew 
that went on duty that last night. “His long guns 
might have done us considerable damage. He has 
lost his opportunity to try to cripple us. Let him 
stay away one day more, and I will have the Niagara 
over, armed and manned ; and if he comes we will put 


202 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


up a stiff fight, and chase him to the head of the lake 
if he tries to run away. You must all work steadily 
and hard, and get the brig over early tomorrow.” 

“And if Barclay comes tomorrow.” 

“We will give him a hot reception, and use our gun- 
boats with their long guns to the best advantage.” 

And where was Barclay? No one on the American 
side knew at the time, but there were some Canadians 
who shook their heads in grave disapproval of the 
Commodore’s neglect. A few years afterwards Mr. 
Ryerson explained the mystery to Captain Dobbins. 

He was present at a banquet, which the people of 
Port Dover, a village near Long Point, gave to Com- 
modore Barclay just at this time. Barclay was a fine 
officer, but he had a social weakness, and he accepted 
the invitation and was there with his officers. In reply 
to a toast the Commodore said, 

“I expect to find the Yankee brigs, hard and fast 
on the bar when I return, in which predicament it will 
be a small job to destroy them.” 

It was Barclay’s opportunity and he lost it. His 
fleet was mounted with at least fourteen long guns, 
and he might have stood off, out of reach of the 
carronades of the brigs, and badly crippled them while 
on the bar. But he was not there. His legs were 
stretched under the boards of a banquet table, while 
Perry was working day and night from Sunday until 


Crossing the Bar 


203 


Friday, hardly taking time to sleep until the ships 
were over and afloat on the lake. 

While the Niagara was still on the bar, and the men 
were working like beavers to draw her over, Barclay’s 
fleet hove in sight. Perry’s preparations for defence 
were all made, and he had only the final orders to issue, 
according to the plan of attack which Barclay might 
adopt. The morning was hazy, and Barclay kept off 
several miles, instead of coming boldly in to make an 
attack. Captain Perry went over in his boat to the 
point on the bar, where Mr. Dobbins was directing 
one of the three gangs of men, who were hauling on 
the cables, by which the camels and brig were drawn 
slowly up to the center of the bar. 

“Come with me, Mr. Dobbins, for a half hour. Let 
Mr. Turner take your place.” 

They pulled out to the entrance of the harbor 
where there was an unobstructed view of the lake, and 
Perry explained the position of Barclay’s fleet since it 
had been sighted. 

“You are familiar with appearances in coming into 
this harbor. How does the position of our vessels look 
to Barclay over there in this atmosphere?” 

“He cannot distinguish them very well at that dis- 
tance in this hazy air. You will notice, Captain, that 
the Niagara is now headed in a line with the Lawrence 
and the gunboats. He cannot make out just where 
the Niagara is.” 


204 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Barclay is deceived.” Perry exclaimed. “He thinks 
both the brigs are over the bar, and in the roadstead, 
but not quite ready. He will probably be unwilling 
to make an attack at present.” 

So Perry took Mr. Dobbins back to his work, and 
then pulled about among the men, encouraging them 
to work harder than ever while the enemy delayed to 
attack, and the opportunity lasted to haul out the brig 
without hindrance. But Perry kept a sharp outlook 
on the enemy. He did not do anything to bring on an 
engagement, keeping all his vessels in such a line as 
to be of most service in repelling an attack, and using 
the utmost despatch to hurry the Niagara into the 
roadstead. 

Barclay made no attempt to annoy them. When the 
leading vessel had discovered that Perry’s fleet was 
out of the harbor, the main-top sail was brailed up, 
and she lay by until the rest of the fleet came up. 
There they reconnoitered for an hour, when signals 
were displayed, and the vessels hauled their wind, and 
sailed back to Long Point. Perry was much relieved, 
but made his men work harder than ever. He made 
the crews at the ropes a little speech. 

“Boys, you have heard how Captain Hull kedged 
and hauled the Constitution out of the clutches of an 
English fleet of nine sail, and brought his ship safely 
into harbor. Let us show the nation that we can haul 


Crossing the Bar 


205 


our brig out over this bar in time to fight Barclay. 
Pull with a will and all together. ,, 

Harry in command of one of the boats called out, 

“Give way, boys. Give way. Lay on your oars. 
Bend your backs and break your oars.” 

The sailors with a song like “Heave around, my 
hearties,” worked away all day to such good purpose, 
that by four o’clock on Thursday afternoon the Niagara 
was in the outer bay, guns and stores all aboard in 
complete preparation for action. And then the men 
had a rest of a few hours. 

At three o’clock Friday morning all hands were 
called, and signals flown from the Lawrence to weigh 
anchor. In an hour the vessels were all under sail, and 
cleared for action. The fleet stood across the lake to 
Long Point, and reconnoitered the harbors along the 
coast, but Barclays fleet could not be discovered. The 
fact was that on Thursday having found that he was 
too late to prevent Perry’s fleet from getting out of 
Presque Isle harbor, Barclay had despatched a special 
messenger in haste by land to Detroit, ordering the 
commander there to hurry up work on the Detroit. 
Then he sailed away to the head of the lake, knowing 
that he had lost his best opportunity of maintaining 
British interests on Lake Erie, and that extra efforts 
must be put forth to make up for it. 

Perry dropped anchor in the roadstead at Erie, to 
give his men much needed rest, and to make new 


206 Don’t Give Up the Ship 

efforts to obtain the full quota of seamen and marines 
to man his fleet. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

How the Niagara Was Manned. 

Sunday morning Purser Hambleton went ashore. 
The men who had volunteered for this special cruise 
to Long Point were sent ashore, and marched up to 
headquarters, paid off and dismissed. Those who 
were now aboard the fleet were the regular seamen 
and marines, and the men who had been enlisted at 
Erie for four months, and including the sick they did 
not number three hundred, officers and men. 

Sailing-master Chase came over from the Caledonia 
as Captain Perry was about to enter his boat to go 
up to Erie, and asked leave of absence for the day, 
which was granted. 

“Stay a moment, sailing-master. Boatswain Macy 
has been very efficient in getting the brigs over the 
bar, and is entitled to a holiday. If he wants to go 
with you I will give him leave of absence until eight 
bells this evening.” 

“Of course he will be glad to go, Sir. I thank you 
for him.” 

The men were not idle although it was Sunday, and 
on war vessels little is done on that day. But on 
Perry’s fleet there was much still to be done with 
spars, stays, blocks and sails, teaching the new men 
207 


208 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


how to do their work, and what the hoarse orders 
meant, and getting everything in shape below. Harry 
was at the head of a squad of men drilling them in 
the working of the big, long guns, when Lieutenant 
Yarnall came to him. 

“Bosun, you may let the gunner’s mate take this 
duty. Captain Perry has given you leave to go 
ashore, and Mr. Chase is waiting with his boat.” 

“Ay. Ay, Sir. The commander is very kind. I’ll 
not forget such consideration.” 

In a few minutes Harry had put on his best sailor 
togs, and dropped over the side into Mr. Chase’s boat, 
and soon they landed at the foot of Peach street. In 
the crowd about Duncan’s tavern where the volunteers 
were being mustered out Harry saw John Chase’s 
cap and said, 

“We won’t have to foot it out. There’s John over 
there.” 

“I kind of thought my boys would hear the fleet was 
sighted and come in to get the news. They could 
hear our gun practice, and might have thought there 
had been a battle. If John hasn’t drove in that colt! 
The little sap-headed youngster wanted to show off, 
and might have broke the wagon and spoilt the colt, 
if he didn’t get killed himself. She’s clipper built and 
a fast sailer, but too cranky a craft for him when 
there may be squalls to face.” 

However when they reached John, they found it 


How the Niagara Was Manned 


209 


was not so bad as Mr. Chase feared, for a trustworthy 
neighbor had driven in with John. In a few moments 
they were on the way to the farm. As they drove 
around the bend in the road and came in sight of the 
cabin, there was Ruth under the maple watching for 
them. While she was reaching her arms up to her 
father, Harry leaped from the wagon on the other side, 
and then he received his welcome, notwithstanding 
their neighbor's presence and shining eyes. 

“By golly, that was worth coming back for. Wan’t 
it, Harry?” 

“Oh, you go along, Mr. Sampson, and don’t forget 
you were young once yourself,” said Ruth as they 
went into the cabin, where for a few minutes they 
were alone. Then Mr. Chase got his old clothes on, 
and went to the barn and fields, to see how things 
were going and to give the boys directions. 

“You would think dad had been gone a month, and 
it’s only three days since he came out.” John said 
when they sat down to a late dinner. “He had to 
look at everything, but I cal’late he found them all 
right.” 

“Yes, my son. I found everything in shipshape. I 
knew I could depend on you.” 

“I’ve been trained strict enough.” 

“Your father was a captain, and it’s second nature 
to him to have boys and men do as he orders.” 

“And he thinks he’s walking the deck of a ship, and 


210 Don’t Give Up the Ship 

everybody has to jump before daylight when he calls 
out, 

“A-a-11 ha-ands a-hoy.” 

They all laughed when John bawled this out, in as 
hoarse a voice as his boyish throat was capable of 
uttering. And then little Ike said, 

“Two weeks ago we had a corn-crib, and a bin for 
oats ; but today when I was getting a measure of oats 
for the mare dad said: 

“Ike, don’t give that mare oats. Put them back in 
the locker, and get some corn from the hold.” 

“Sailor talk is bred in the bone with us Nantucket 
salts. I’m too old a dog to learn new tricks,” his 
father replied when they had their laugh out. Then 
Ruth said, 

“How do you like your little brig?” 

“She’s a slow sailer. But I haven’t had time to 
learn her peculiarities.” 

“Was she built at Black Rock?” 

“No, Ike. I thought you knew, she was captured 
by Lieutenant Elliott from the Canucks more than a 
year ago. Don’t you remember how brave he was in 
cutting her out under the guns of Fort Erie?” 

“Yes. You told us, and what a rich cargo of furs 
was on board.” 

Harry and Ruth were just starting out to go down 
to their trysting-place on the banks of Mill Creek, 
when there came a hail from James Patterson. He 


211 


How the Niagara Was Manned 

brought an order from Captain Perry for Harry to 
return, and go on board the Ariel at once. 

“What’s up now?” 

“Reinforcements coming. Packet is ordered to bring 
them in the Ariel, and you are to be master’s-mate on 
this cruise, with a picked crew.” 

Of course Harry was disappointed to lose the hours 
he had expected to spend with Ruth, and it was a still 
heavier loss to Ruth, but there was no way of avoiding 
the duty, nor did he wish to do so. There was no 
probability of having another afternoon together before 
the fleet sailed away. Ruth promised to come out in 
a boat and see Harry, when the Lawrence weighed 
anchor for Detroit. They went out into the little 
kitchen, and the farewell was a solemn one, and but 
few words were spoken. 

In Perry’s mail that morning there was a letter from 
General Harrison informing him that Proctor had 
raised the siege of Ft. Meigs, and that Lieutenant 
Croghan had made a gallant defence of Ft. Stephen- 
son against an overwhelming force of the enemy. The 
enemy had been obliged to retire, and now, as soon as 
Perry could support him with the fleet, he intended to 
advance on Detroit. It was important for Perry to 
come out to Sandusky. 

Mr. Hambleton, the purser, was invited to dine with 
Captain Perry, and while at the table, they had a long 
talk about the situation. Perry was greatly harassed 


212 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


by the urgency of Harrison on the one hand, and the 
orders of the Secretary of the navy on the other, while 
his superior officer kept him so short-handed that his 
fleet was crippled for officers and men. He expressed 
himself very freely to Hambleton, who was an inti- 
mate friend, about the shameful way his requests for 
reinforcements had been ignored. He said it would 
have been far better, if he had been given an independ- 
ent command on the lake; then supplies and men 
designed for this fleet would not have been diverted 
elsewhere. He saw no way but to venture out to the 
West with his fleet, and ask Harrison for a strong 
detail of soldiers to act as marines, which would 
increase the fighting power of the fleet, but the lack 
of able seamen might cause its destruction by the 
enemy or by storms. 

While they were still talking of these perplexities, 
Midshipman Montgomery entered the dining-room 
with a letter, which had been brought by an express. 
It was from Captain Elliott, announcing that he was 
on his way, and would soon reach Buffalo with several 
officers and nearly one hundred seamen. Captain 
Perry sprang to his feet, electrified by the glad news. 

“This is the happiest day of my life. Now all will 
be well. We will find Barclay and defeat him, and 
clear the lakes of the enemy’s fleet.” 

He immediately returned to the fleet, and ordered 
Lieutenant Packett to sail with the Ariel to meet 


How the Niagara Was Manned 


213 


Captain Elliott and the men, and bring them to Presque 
Isle. The Ariel was a fast sailor, but her present crew 
was small, and Lieutenant Packett asked for a detail 
of additional men. It was in this way that Harry 
Macy was selected for the position of master’s-mate 
for the cruise. 

The Ariel sailed at five o’clock, and arrived at 
Buffalo the next day. Captain Elliott sent the men 
aboard, but remained at the tavern for some time, 
leisurely consulting with Lieutenant Packett about the 
fleet. Then he ate his dinner and came aboard just 
before sunset. The Ariel at once weighed anchor, and 
stood out well into the lake, and headed for Erie. 

Harry was pleased with the appearance of the men 
as they came aboard, for he could easily see by their 
walk and manner that they were old seamen. He had 
turned away, and was giving some orders to the top- 
men, when there was a heavy clap on his shoulder, 
and a familiar voice said, 

“Good Lord, Shipmate. Don’t you know your own 
townsman?” Looking around he saw that this big, 
clear-eyed, clean-looking sailor was Tom Starbuck. 

“Hurrah, Tom! It’s good to see you once more. 
You’re still alive and hearty. I was going to ask 
some of these men about you.” 

“I'm still alive and kicking, I’ve been shifted around 
several times, and we haven’t done much on Ontario 
for some reason I don’t understand. I’m glad to get 


214 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


back again under Perry’s command, for he will give us 
some lively times or I’m much mistaken. But you 
were giving orders. Are you mate?” 

“Yes, for this cruise, but this is not my ship. Pm 
on the flagship, the Lawrence.” 

“Say, Harry. Can’t you get me a berth on the 
Lawrence? I want to be under Perry. I’ve had 
enough of — you know who I mean.” 

“I suppose Captain Perry will distribute your officers 
and men through the fleet, for many of our men are 
land-lubbers. They haven’t got their sea-legs yet or 
learned the ropes, and we need men who are sailors 
to show them how to manage sails and stays. Some 
of them didn’t know a marlin-spike from a flying 
jib-boom. But the commander is training them down 
fine. He’s a master hand for making sailors, and in a 
month we would match them with any old salts.” 

“Don’t be too cock sure you will get many of these 
men. Captain Elliott expects to have one of the brigs, 
and he picked out his men, and expects to keep them 
for his own ship.” 

“Perry is commander, and he will have his own 
plans for manning, sailing and fighting the fleet.” 

“Elliott will make himself pretty disagreeable if his 
plans are interfered with. You remember that.” 

“Tom, I would like you to be on the Lawrence, and 
I will speak to Lieutenant Yarnall about you. But 
remember this, that when the fight begins, the Law- 


How the Niagara Was Manned 


215 


rence will be in the hottest place, and she will suffer 
the most. 

“All the more glory to be aboard her. That is 
where I want to be in the thickest of the fight.” 

“Tell me all the news from Nantucket.” 

“I don’t know any. I haven’t heard from the old 
home for six months.” 

“I am better posted. I heard a month ago from 
home. Father is with Decatur on the President. You 
will find another Nantucket man in the fleet. Captain 
Chase is living at Erie, a farmer, and he is sailing- 
master of the Caledonia, a small brig.” 

“What Seth Chase, the old townor? He won’t want 
to see me. There was no love lost between us after 
that night, when Jack Folger and I pulled up his 
lobster pots, and helped ourselves.” 

“He won’t lay that up against you.” 

“He had a pretty daughter. She must be grown 
up now. She was a dory-mate of yours. Ha! ha! 
Harry I see ! You have been fishing out that way.” 

Harry’s face flushed a deep red underneath the tan 
from wind and sun. 

“Never mind about Ruth Chase. You need not be 
thinking you will see her. As soon as we get to Erie, 
Captain Perry will shift the officers and men, and set 
sail for Sandusky Bay. You will have no time to think 
about the girls until the victory is won over Barclay.” 


216 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Don’t get huffy, Harry. I don’t mean to rake in 
your oyster-bed.” 

Lieutenant Packett called the mate to show the 
men where they could stow their clothes-bags and 
arms. Then a lot of supplies were brought aboard, 
and stowed in the hold. The new men lined up, and 
each passed by the cook’s galley, and received his cup 
of coffee and dole of sea-biscuit and salt-beef. There 
was no room for them between decks, so they were 
given their stations on deck. By eight bells at night 
the men, eighty-nine in number, were fast asleep. 

Captain Elliott, two lieutenants, eight midshipmen, 
a master’s mate, and a clerk, found places for the night 
in the cabin, and bunks below. The next day the 
Ariel weighed anchor in the outer bay at Presque Isle. 

Captain Perry’s satisfaction at this strong reinforce- 
ment was greatly diminished by Captain Elliott’s 
manner and conduct. He had lately been promoted to 
the rank of master-commandant, the same rank that 
Perry held : and while Perry had the chief command, 
Captain Elliott conceded as little as possible to his 
authority. He took for granted that he was to com- 
mand the Niagara, and that the men he had brought 
with him were to man his own ship. 

It was right here that the beginning of the difference 
between the two officers arose, and it was not the 
fault of Captain Perry. He was a perfect gentleman, 
accustomed to associate with men of chivalric feelings 


How the Niagara Was Manned 


217 


similar to his own. The good of the service, the best 
interests of his country, was the spring of all his 
conduct. When other officers had been advanced over 
him, he had generously aided them in manning their 
vessels with the choicest men from his gunboats. So 
now he had no thought of anything but the best dis- 
position of the men to make the whole fleet one 
efficient machine in all its parts, in order that its fight- 
ing and maneuvers might be as perfect as possible. 
But he was surprised to find a very different spirit in 
this new man, who was to be the second officer of the 
fleet. He soon discovered in him a strong self-will, and 
selfish spirit. 

When the commander had explained the insufficiency 
of the men he had to man the fleet, and the necessity 
forced on him to enlist raw landsmen, and stated 
some of the changes that were important, so that 
experienced seamen would be placed in each vessel, 
he was astonished to find that Captain Elliott had 
already made out a complete roster of these men for the 
Niagara, and had begun to send them over to the ship. 
When Perry demurred to this, and stated his reasons 
for it, Captain Elliott clearly indicated that he expected 
his arrangement to stand. 

This selfishness and cool assumption of authority 
disconcerted the Commander. There was no time to 
lose in consultations. He did not wish to have a clash 
with his second officer at the beginning of the cruise. 


218 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


On the eve of battle, any lack of harmony would be 
perilous in itself, and might have a serious effect on 
the morale of the officers and men. So, much against 
his own judgment, and as he afterwards regretted, 
Perry yielded to Elliot’s arrangement. But he soon 
discovered another disagreeable trait. Having just 
come from Commodore Chauncey’s fleet, Elliott pre- 
sumed on the Commodore’s confidence in him, and 
gave out the impression that he had been entrusted 
with the Commodore’s views of the campaign. Perry 
listened for a little while, and then replied that he 
was in communication with Commodore Chauncey, 
and preferred to take his views from his written direc- 
tions. After that Captain Elliott was not quite so free 
and dictatorial in his manner. Only so much of this 
unfortunate disagreement will be told, as may be 
necessary to give a clear account of the battle of Lake 
Erie. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

A Storm On The Lake. 

On the next day Tom Starbuck was sent over to the 
Lawrence in response to Lieutenant Yamall’s request. 
He was better known by the Newport men than by 
Captain Elliott, and before noon he was appointed a 
gunner’s mate. Harry Macy was made master’s mate. 
When Tom had stowed away his dunnage, he found 
Harry on deck but not very busy. 

“Tell me about the fleet, Harry,” he said, looking 
over the side at the nine vessels in the roadstead. 

“There are none of them large. The Niagara is the 
twin of this brig, and armed just like the Lawrence. 
Our ship is one hundred ten feet in length and two 
hundred sixty tons burden.” 

“I wish they had given me one of those two long 
twelve pounders. But if we get close to the enemy I 
will make my thirty-two pound carronade talk.” 

“You will get close enough. Perry believes in laying 
up close to the enemy.” 

“What is that little brig?” 

“The Caledonia. Lieutenant Daniel Turner is in 
command, and Mr. Chase is master. They have two 
long twenty-fours and a thirty-two carronade.” 

“The Ariel comes next. Lieutenant Packett takes 
219 


220 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


great pride in her for she is clipper built, and you saw 
how she can sail. Those four long twelve pounders 
will play an important part in the fight. The Tigress 
is beyond the Ariel; Lieutenant Augustus M. Conk- 
ling has one long thirty-two pounder. The other 
gunboats on the lee are, the sloop Trippe, Lieutenant 
Thomas Holdup, one long thirty-two; the schooner 
Porcupine, Midshipman George Sennat, the same 
weapon. Then my old commander is next with the 
schooner Scorpion. You remember Sailing-Master 
Champlin. He has two guns, a long thirty-two and a 
short twenty-four. Aft lies the Schooner Somers, 
Sailing-master Thomas C. Almy, one long twenty-four 
and one short thirty-two.” 

“What schooner is that just going into the bay?” 

“That is the Ohio. She has one long gun and two 
short heavy guns. Sailing-master Dobbins is the com- 
mander, and Perry sends him everywhere for all pur- 
poses. Mr. Dobbins began to build the fleet here, and 
has had a large part not only in building it, but in 
bringing down the guns and ammunition and much 
of the supplies from Buffalo. He is a fine sailor, and 
knows the lakes like you would know Nantucket Bay. 
He understands the currents, and the winds, and the 
entrance to the harbors, which have not been charted 
yet, like the sea harbors.” 

“Here are ten vessels. I heard you built six here, 
and brought five from Buffalo. Have you lost one?” 


A Storm On the Lake 


221 


“The Amelia had been lengthened at Black Rock, 
but after we brought her here she was found to be 
unseaworthy and condemned.” 

“I should think Perry would rather have one large 
brig than so many gunboats/’ 

“No doubt he would, but there is no harbor, where 
a large ship could be built, and taken out into the 
lake. We had a hard task to get these two out.” 

But Tom was now ordered to get his gun crew 
ready, and practice them with the gun. So he ordered 
the tackle men to draw it back. Then the swabber 
cleaned it. A boy was sent to the magazine for a 
cartridge, and the loaders went through the motion of 
ramming the charge. Then the tackle men drew it out 
through the port hole, and Tom sighted it. Lieuten- 
ant Yarnall, in command of the port division, said it 
was well done, and ordered them to go on with the 
practice. 

These were now two busy days on the fleet. Mr. 
Dobbins went back and forth, bringing out the final 
supplies. The mate and boatswains were inspecting 
the stores of spars, yards, blocks, and ropes. The new 
men were being instructed in handling sails and stays. 
Lieutenant Brooks and Captain Brevoort were organ- 
izing the marines and drilling them. And the gun 
crews were constantly drilled in the use of the guns. 

Mr. Chase managed to get off on the last day for a 
few hours with his family, and they all came back with 


222 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


him early in the evening. Harry got off for a half 
hour, and met Ruth on the beach of the little bay on 
Presque Isle. 

“What do you think of our fleet now?” he asked 
Ruth. “Your neighbors are deeply impressed with 
it.” 

“To tell the truth I wasn’t thinking much about the 
fleet. Of course, it is unusual to have so many vessels 
in this quiet harbor. But I am so used to seeing many 
more in Nantucket Bay that this fleet does not astonish 
me. But I was thinking of you and father. You are 
like other men. Your work, or business, or farm take 
up most of your time and thought, but women are 
different. Their thoughts are all about their families 
and dear ones. Now, your mind is on this cruise, and 
mine is on you, and the danger and the uncertainty 
of it all. When will I see you again, or hear you are 
safe ?” 

“If I am alive when the battle is over, I will send 
you a letter or a message by the first chance. Don’t 
be overcome by anxiety, Ruth. Be brave and cheerful 
for your mother’s sake. You can help us in two ways 
now.” 

“How? Let me know how I can help you.” 

“As I said by being brave. If we know you are 
sending us out to battle with good cheer, it will nerve 
us when the spars are falling, and the great balls are 


A Storm On the Lake 


223 


tearing our beautiful ships to wrecks, and men are fall- 
ing all around us. 

And then remember that God is over all, and He 
can send us victory if you ask Him. I believe He will 
hear your prayers, for you are a good girl, Ruth, one 
whom He delights in and loves to bless/’ 

This was almost too much for Ruth, but she made a 
supreme effort to control her emotions, and although 
her eyes were moist her face was bright. She took 
a blue ribbon from her dress and tied it in Harry’s 
blouse. 

“Take this for your colors, Harry. When the battle 
comes on, wear it and think of me. And strike the en- 
emy hard for your country and for me.” 

Harry drew Ruth into the shadow of a clump of 
bushes, and there they said their last good-by. Ruth 
went back to the boat where the family were, and 
Harry went aboard his ship for it was time to call the 
watch. 

All hands were called before dawn the next morning, 
August 12th. The signal to weigh anchor was hoisted 
at the masthead of the Lawrence, and they soon got un- 
der way in double column. The Lawrence, Porcupine, 
Caledonia, Ohio, and Ariel on the right. The Niagara, 
Trippe, Tigress, Somers and Scorpion on the left. The 
distance between the vessels was fixed at a half cable’s 
length, three hundred and sixty feet. 

Signals were established by which the vessels would 


224 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


recognize each other in the night. One light to be dis- 
played, and a hail to the vessel to the windward. The 
answer to this would be “Jones,” and the reply “Mad- 
ison.” So the fleet was kept close together in the 
night. The wind was light when the squadron left 
Presque Isle, but gradually it rose, blowing strong 
from the southeast. The weather held for three days 
and they made a quick passage, coming to anchor on 
the evening of the 15th, in the fine harbor of Put-in- 
Bay, among the islands north of Sandusky. 

The next morning Mr.Champlin discovered a strange 
sail several miles east, off Kelly’s Island. He gave 
chase, and the whole fleet got under way. The sloop 
was recognized by Mr. Dobbins, as the Ottawa, which 
the Canadians had captured early in the war. In 
rounding a point on Middle Bass Island the Scorpion 
ran aground on a sand bar, and the stranger escaped 
to carry the news of Perry’s arrival to Barclay. 

But now a storm was brewing, and instead of sailing 
off Sandusky Point, signals were made to return to the 
harbor. The sky grew black and the glass was fall- 
ing. Lake Erie is not a pleasant water for landsmen 
even in a moderate wind, for the shallowness of the 
water makes a choppy sea. This did not disturb the 
officers and old seamen, but the landsmen who had been 
recruited at Erie were lying about on deck near the 
gunwale. About five o’clock Lieutenant Yarnall or- 
dered the mate to take in sail. 


A Storm On the Lake 


225 


“Lay aloft there, all star bow-lines,” Patterson called. 
Harry, the second mate, jumped into the rigging as 
soon as the reef-tackle was hauled. Tom Starbuck fol- 
lowed. The mate was on the yard, and at the weath- 
er-earing and Tom went to the lee. In a short time 
the top sails were double reefed, although the new sails 
were stiff. By the time the mainsails were furled the 
men were thinking they could come down when the 
mate called up. 

“Lay out there and furl the jib.” 

The gale was increasing and this was no landsman’s 
task, and Tom sprang out on the bowsprit and Harry 
followed. The rest of the top men slid down the 
shrouds, and the new men looked on in wonder, 
holding on to the chains. The two men were lifted up 
and down, and it seemed every moment as if they 
would be thrown into the lake. They held on, and 
the gale slackened up a bit. Lieutenant Yarnall called 
to the man at the wheel to keep the brig off a point, 
and so they gradually got the sail under and furled 
it. Then they came down and soon after the brig 
dropped anchor in the safe waters of Put-in-Bay. 

But that was the most uncomfortable night the new 
men had ever experienced. They were sick all night, 
and believed their last hour had come. After that, 
battle had no terrors for them, for they felt the worst 
of death had been passed. The next morning there 
was a stiff breeze from the northwest, and the air was 
cool and bracing. The hungry men relished their salt 


226 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


beef and sea-biscuits, and felt equal to any conflict with 
wind or water, or the British fleet, or a horde of In- 
dians. 

The fleet weighed anchor early in the morning and 
sailed to a point of! Sandusky Bay. Here three guns 
were fired, and in ten minutes three more, which was 
the signal to General Harrison of their arrival. 

That evening Colonel Gaines, of Harrison’s staff, 
came on board with dispatches, and bringing several 
officers and some Indian chiefs with him. He said 
that General Harrison was at the head of an army of 
eight thousand men west of Fort Stephenson, about a 
day’s march distant. 

Two days later Harry was ordered to prepare the 
boats of the Lawrence to bring General Harrison and 
his staff on board. Other boats from the Niagara and 
Caledonia were manned, and all pulled away under the 
command of Second Lieutenant Dulaney Forest. In 
Sandusky Bay, they waited several hours, and late in 
the day General Harrison came with a strong guard, 
and accompanied by Generals McArthur and Cass, Col- 
onel Gaines, and the gallant Major Croghan, and a 
company of Indian chiefs, with their war bonnets on 
and their gayest blankets, fringed leggins, and beaded 
moccasins. 

General McArthur took a seat in Harry’s boat. He 
gave his hand to the mate and inquired his name. 
Then seeing how he was gazing at the Indians, asked 


A Storm On the Lake 


227 


him if he had ever seen Indians. Harry replied that 
these were the first chiefs he had seen. So General 
McArthur pointed out Black Hoof, the great Shawano 
chief, always friendly to the whites, Captain Tommy, 
Buckhongehelas, the bloody Delaware, now a man of 
peace, and then he invited one to take a seat with him, 
and introduced him as Tarkee, the Crane, the greatest 
chief of the Wyandottes. These were the strong men 
of their tribes, whom Tecumtha had endeavored in vain 
to alienate from their allegiance to the United States, 
under whose shield they now lived in peace. 

When all were embarked the boats pulled away. 
General Harrison was in the officer’s gig with Lieuten- 
ant Forrest, the colors floating at the bow. It was 
evening when they reached the fleet, which was decked 
with flags and pennants, and the yards were alive with 
men. 

In the morning a salute was fired in honor of the 
Commanding General, and the fleet stood out in the 
lake reconnoitering the islands. Perry and Harrison 
held a long conference in the cabin, and laid their plans 
for the western campaign. On the 21st of August 
General Harrison and his party were put ashore, and 
as the army was not quite ready for an advance, Perry 
sailed for the mouth of Detroit River, to discover, if he 
might, where Barclay was, and what he was doing. 


CHAPTER XX. 


Watching Barclay. 

Before sailing Captain Perry ordered Mr. Dobbins 
to return with the Ohio to Erie for supplies. This was 
an opportunity to mail letters, and Harry rapidly fin- 
ished up a letter to Ruth, and added a few lines to one 
for his mother. The first one is too sacred for any 
oth^r eyes but Ruth’s. We will be pardoned if we bor- 
row the letter to Harry’s mother, from one of his 
grandsons and let you read it. 

On Board the Lawrence, Lake Erie. 
Dear and Respected Mother: — 

We are now near the western end or head of Lake 
Erie, at anchor among some beautiful islands north of 
Sandusky Bay. It seems so far away from you, and 
soon we will sail on to Detroit River. If we find Bar- 
clay and his fleet, we will probably have a fight. The 
Detroit River runs into Lake Erie about thirty-five 
miles from our present anchorage, and the enemy’s fleet 
is said to lie at Malden, five miles up the river, which is 
from three to five miles wide there. If you can find 
a map of this country it will show you where we are, 
but I don’t think there is any at Nantucket. The bat- 
tle will be out here; for if Barclay should decline it, 
228 


Watching Barclay 


229 


our captain will not let him escape, and if they stay 
under the shelter of the land batteries Harrison’s big 
army will be taken over to help capture the enemy’s 
ships at Malden. I believe Barclay will fight, and I pin 
my faith on Perry’s winning. Perry knows how to 
maneuver his fleet and how to fight, and he is using 
every hour to drill and practice his men. 

Tom Starbuck is now on the Lawrence, and is a gun- 
ner’s mate. He is perfectly steady and is a splendid 
seaman. He wants me to send his love to all his Nan- 
tucket cousins. 

Our fleet makes a brave show on these waters that 
are seldom plowed by a ship. Just think of it mother! 
There has never been a fleet of ten sailing vessels on 
this lake since Creation. 

I am very well. I have not had any of the bilious 
fever whic^h so many of the men have, because I have 
been careful of my eating. It may be that I will fall in 
the coming battle, for I know that Perry will not spare 
his flag-ship. She will be in the center of the fight, 
the target for the enemy’s guns on all sides. If I 
should be wounded, or even killed, I know you will be 
willing to give me up for the sake of our country. 
Some must lay down their lives on that altar, and I 
may be one. I am not afraid to die. I have had many 
talks with our chaplain, and I have made all my prep- 
arations for such an event, if my Maker should so de- 
cide for me. But I will pray and hope that I may live 


230 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


for you and for Ruth. Life is sweeter to me now than 
ever, since I have learned to love that dear girl, Ruth 
Chase, and I hope God will spare me. 

I see a good deal of Alexander Perry, the captain’s 
brother. He is thirteen, about the size of our Johnnie, 
I suppose. He is a midshipman now, and a lively, 
bright boy. There are some other boys aboard, who 
will carry water and powder for us. 

Give my love to all the children, and to father when 
you write to him, and to all our folks. You will not 
forget to pray for me every day, that I may not falter 
in the hour of conflict, but be strong to help gain the 
victory. 

Your Obedient and Affectionate Son, 
Harry Macy. 

On board the Lawrence, Aug. 22, 1813. 

Harry took his letter to Thomas Breeze, the chap- 
lain, who sealed it for him, and they had a few mo- 
ments talk. Then Lieutenant Yarnall came down to 
the cabin, and seeing the letter, offered to send it with 
others to the Ohio before she sailed. 

The next day the fleet was under sail for Detroit 
river. At the mouth they stood by, and Perry recon- 
noitered the enemy’s position, five ships at anchor 
within Bar Point, in the bay of Malden, a few miles up 
the river. The new ship, Detroit, was not with the 
fleet, and Captain Perry was anxious to seize the op- 
portunity of attacking at once. The wind, however, 


Watching Barclay 


231 


was unfavorable, and there was danger of losing some 
of his gunboats if the wind went down, for they were 
slow sailors in a light breeze. 

The fleet lay off the mouth of the river, waiting for a 
turn of the wind, but unfortunately the bilious fever 
broke out again among the crews of the vessels. Perry 
himself was sick, and his little brother, and the chap- 
lain, and Surgeon Horsely. Harry, James Patterson, 
and Tom Starbuck were called on to nurse the sick 
ones, and the assistant surgeon, Dr. Usher Parsons, 
had the care of all the sick thrown upon his hands. 

Captain Perry saw that it was unwise to force a bat- 
tle under such distressing circumstances, for the fever 
completely prostrated those it attacked. So he hoisted 
the signal to return to Put-in-Bay. There in the quiet 
waters the men began to improve. Dr. Parsons adopt- 
ed heroic measures with the commander, and soon had 
him up again. The doctor now had his turn with the 
fever, but he would not give up. He had the sick men 
in line on deck for their pills, and then asked Harry to 
have him carried in his chair to the men, who could not 
leave their hammocks. Then he said, 

“Mr. Yarnall. Can you have a boat for me? I must 
go to the Ariel and Scorpion, and the Niagara, and hear 
from the other vessels.” 

“You are not fit for such a hard trip, Doctor.” 

“I think I can make it. There are more than a hun- 


232 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


dred men down. We can’t fight Barclay with half the 
crews disabled. I must put them in condition.” 

“If you will go, we will send you on a cot. Bosun, 
pipe the crew of the officer’s gig to their station.” 

So on his cot gently lowered to the boat, and lifted 
again in turn to the deck of each vessel in the fleet, Dr. 
Parsons visited all the sick men, gave them remedies, 
and left strict orders with each commander for their 
care. The doctor believed the hard water w r as inju- 
rious, and ordered the drinking water to be boiled. 
The sight of such deep, unselfish interest in their wel- 
fare, and such heroic devotion to his humane duty was 
inspiring to the men, and helped them to take heart 
again. The quiet rest in the bay and the remedies 
happily restored the health of the commander and 
many men, during this last week of August. 

On the last day of August one of the sloops was sent 
to Sandusky harbor, and returned with a reinforcement 
of nearly one hundred men from General Harrison’s 
army. These men were nearly as great a curiosity to 
the men from the East, as if they were visitors from an- 
other planet. Some of them, from General McArthur’s 
brigade, were tough Ohio rivermen, keel-boatmen, the 
terror of the settlements on the Ohio and the Missis- 
sippi. These men were detailed as seamen, and put 
under the authority of Lieutenant Yarnall. The most 
of the men were tall Kentucky rifle men, who had re- 
cently joined General Harrison’s army. They were 


Watching Barclay 


233 


sharpshooters, and had volunteered for service as ma- 
rines, and were under command of their own sergeants. 
They were all brought to the Lawrence, that Captain 
Brevoort and Lieutenant Brooks might arrange the dis- 
tribution of them in the fleet. It was an invasion that 
was not soon forgotten. 

They were dressed in their linsey-woolsey hunting 
shirts, with wide fringes on the yoke, and shorter 
fringes down the sleeves and on the seam of their loose 
trousers. Their long rifles were also an unusual sight 
to the sailors who were used to short carbines. These 
men were the sons of the hardy, independent men, who 
had settled Kentucky and were in the habit of relying 
on their own ready wit and sturdy courage in every 
dangerous event, and were strangers to the discipline 
of trained soldiers and seamen. 

Few of them had ever seen a vessel larger than a 
canoe or pirogue, and as soon as they climbed on board 
the Lawrence, they gave expression to their astonish- 
ment in loud calls and strange oaths, and at once began 
to explore the ship. Some of them went up the rig- 
ging like cats, and swarmed out on the yards or up to 
the masthead. Others dropped down the hatchway, 
or into the cook’s galley. From top to bottom the ship 
was thoroughly explored. They lifted up hammocks, 
and opened lockers, and even the officer’s cabin was 
visited. They talked to the sick, and asked questions 
of every one, and loudly voiced their wonder and ad- 


234 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


miration. The order and quiet of the well-disciplined 
man-of-war was, for the time, as effectually broken up, 
as if they had suddenly been struck by a twenty-knot 
gale. 

To the sailors the coming of the strangers was a 
good deal of a circus, and they laughed loudly at their 
queer antics and strange talk. Captain Perry was him- 
self amused and let things go for a little while, but 
could not for long tolerate such an infraction of disci- 
pline and order. Thirty-six of the men were assigned 
to the Lawrence, and the others were distributed to the 
other vessels. The commander then called the ser- 
geant into the cabin, and explained briefly the duties of 
the marines, and the conduct they must observe. He 
said every man had his own place, or station, on the 
ship, and was obliged to stay there. This was an abso- 
lute necessity in a vessel only one hundred and ten feet 
long and thirty feet beam. For the ship could not be 
handled by the sailors, or the guns fired, if the crowd 
of men did not keep to their stations in such narrow 
quarters. Then he showed him the necessity of obedi- 
ence to orders, because any lack of it would demoralize 
the whole crew. 

The sergeant mustered his men at the station as- 
signed them on deck, and gave them some instructions. 

“Now boys,” he said, “I want you to give attention 
to what I say. Captain Perry knew you would want 
to spy out everything on this ship, and he has let you 


Watching Barclay 


235 


do it, although you have been breaking a lot of rules 
that are very strict on shipboard. You can see this 
ship is only a little bigger than two log cabins and 
there are more than one hundred and fifty men on it. 
The sailors have to have plenty of room to get the sails 
out, and pull on the ropes. No one else is allowed to 
touch a rope, or get into the rigging. Then there's 
twenty big guns, and the crews have to have free room 
to work them back and forth. These lines here are 
our station, and you will have to stay right here. Lieu- 
tenant Brooks is our officer, and we must obey his or- 
ders. If any man disobeys his orders, or breaks out of 
this station, he will be put under arrest at once. 

Now boys, we have volunteered to help Captain 
Perry fight the British, and in a few days he will give 
you all the excitement you want. You will be in the 
hottest kind of a fight. Fighting bears or Indians 
won’t be a scratch, beside the lively scrimage you will 
be in before a week. So behave yourselves, and show 
Captain Perry and his sailors, that you can obey orders 
like men, and fight like devils.” 

The men took the matter in good heart. This was 
an unthought of adventure, and promised a good deal 
more danger and excitement than their comrades would 
see on land. There was plenty of novelty in the daily 
round, and in the evening they were allowed the free- 
dom of the deck except the quarter deck, aft, which was 
reserved to the officers’ use. Around the capstan and 


236 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


on the gun slides they heard many a sailor’s yarn, and 
they had their turn in telling the thrilling adventures 
of their fathers on the dark and bloody ground of Ken- 
tucky. 

The newest tale was the account of the fight in 
which Captain James Lawrence had been fatally 
wounded, and his ship, the ill-fated Chesapeake, had 
been taken by the Shannon. Harry Macy had learned 
all the details from Lieutenants Yarnall and Brooks. 
Mr. Brooks also talked to his men about the sea-fight. 
He told them of the gallant cruise of Lawrence in the 
Hornet and how he captured the Peacock. But when 
he took command of the Chesapeake it was difficult to 
get a crew to enlist because of her bad reputation. 
They were a bad lot, and had not been trained or 
drilled at the guns. He did not know that the Shan- 
non was one of the best frigates in the English navy, 
and her crew had been on a five year’s voyage, and 
were drilled to the highest efficiency. Captain Law- 
rence would have remained in harbor, until his men had 
been trained if he had known this. So Lieutenant 
Brooks drew a strong lesson from it for the necessity 
of drill and discipline. 

The Kentuckians could not but admire the handsome 
Brooks, and soon learned to appreciate his military 
skill, and from this, to understand and admire their 
gallant commander, who left nothing undone to make 
his fleet a perfect fighting machine. So his orders 


Watching Barclay 


237 


were obeyed with alacrity, and when he came on deck 
they turned their eyes to him, and watched his tall, 
well-knit figure, and graceful movements. His polite 
treatment of all his officers, and their observance of the 
rules of naval etiquette had a marked influence on these 
boisterous men from the Southwest. They could ap- 
preciate strength of character, and the skill which pro- 
duces results, even in one whose voice was low-toned, 
and whose manners were so much quieter than their 
own. 

September 1st Perry sailed again for Detroit river, 
and stood in until he could observe Barclay’s position. 
He saw the Detroit, apparently prepared for action, 
shore batteries, and a battery on the island, which could 
deliver a flanking fire. He was not strong enough to 
make an attack without the aid of a land force. He 
set his colors on all his vessels, and sailed back and 
forth, challenging Barclay. But Barclay refused to 
come out. 

General Harrison offered to send a division of three 
thousand men if Perry could transport them. Perry 
said that such a body of men would clog the working 
of his fleet, in case Barclay should make an attack. 
But the army might be carried to Middle Sister Island, 
and then before dawn landed near the mouth of the 
river, and then the fleet and army could co-operate in 
an attack. 

And now Captain Perry obtained some accurate and 


238 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


important information about the enemy from Captain 
Brevoort’s family who had been detained at their home 
in Detroit, and had lately escaped through the lines. 
Supplies in Detroit were running low, and Barclay 
would be obliged soon to come out and fight, or en- 
deavor to slip by to Long Point. Perry resolved he 
should not escape him. He sent out the Ariel and 
Scorpion to scout north of the islands for any signs of 
their coming out, and he built a tall lookout on Gibral- 
tar Island, and men were stationed in the fore-tops to 
watch for sails. 

Captain Perry also learned some important details 
about Barclay’s fleet. The Detroit was a strongly built 
ship of nearly five hundred tons. All but two of her 
nineteen guns were of long range but lighter weight 
than those of the Lawrence. The Queen Charlotte, 
Captain Finnis in command, carried seventeen guns, 
three of long range, and fourteen short twenty-four 
pounders. These vessels were larger than Perry’s 
brigs and carried more men. They would have an ad- 
vantage in the beginning of the fight because of the 
longer range of their guns. 

The other vessels were the brigs, Lady Provost thir- 
teen guns, three long; and the Hunter, ten guns of 
smaller weight but six long in range ; the sloop, Little 
Belt, three long guns, and the schooner Chippewa, one 
long nine-pounder. In all Barclay’s six vessels carried 
sixty-three guns, thirty-five being long; while Perry 


Watching Barclay 


239 


had fifty-four guns, only fifteen long. Barclay had five 
hundred and two men. One hundred and fifty of his 
seamen were from the Royal Navy, and eighty were 
Canadian sailors. He had two hundred and forty 
marines, who were picked men from the English Ma- 
rine service, and he had thirty-two officers. 

To meet them Perry had a fleet of ten smaller ves- 
sels, which could not be as well handled as six larger 
ones, or give as concentrated a fire. Perry had four 
hundred and ninety men enrolled, of whom one hundred 
and sixteen were on the sick list the day of the battle. 
A good number of them were new men, who had only 
received a limited drill and training in the last few 
weeks, and one gunboat mounting three guns was now 
absent, and might not return -in time to join in the 
battle. 

But Perry knew the work that was cut out for him 
and the strength of his enemy, and he quickly decided 
what disposition he should make of his own fleet, either 
for an attack or for defence. 


CHAPTER XXI. 

The Battle Flag Is Hoisted. 

The evening of September 9th was a beautiful sum* 
mer night, with a full moon shining peacefully on the 
quiet waters of Lake Erie, as the squadron lay at an- 
chor in Put-in-Bay. On shore were seen the white 
tents and camp-fires of a battalion of infantry, sent over 
by General Harrison to guard the stores of the fleet, 
and as an additional protection against a night attack 
on the vessels. 

The second lieutenant, Dulaney Forrest, came on 
deck at five bells, carrying a signal flag, and called Pat- 
terson to fly it at the fore-top of the mainmast. Flut- 
tering in the light breeze it called every commander in 
the fleet to come aboard the flagship. 

Harry Macy was walking about among the guns of 
the first division. The men of the crew were seated 
on the guns, or on the combing of the fok’sle, or stand- 
ing about the capstan. Two of the Kentuckians, who 
had asked him many questions, now came up to inquire 
what the signal was. 

“ It is to call the commanders to a conference with 
Captain Perry. Come up on this gun, and you can see 
the boats come over.” 

It was a pretty sight as the white boats darted to- 
240 


The Battle Flag Is Hoisted. 


241 


wards the Lawrence, the oars flashing in the moonlight 
as they lifted and swept forward and back together. 
Lieutenant Yarnall stood at the port gangway and re- 
ceived each officer, and either he or Lieutenant Forrest 
accompanied them to the cabin. The careful etiquette 
displayed in their reception, and the splendid uniforms, 
made a great impression on the western men, and one 
of them remarked, 

“It must be a good deal like the President’s recep- 
tion.” 

The talk ceased while the officers were coming 
aboard, but began again when they went below; for 
this was the social hour, when the men were free to go 
about on the fore deck. The officers of the ship were 
on the quarter deck in groups, from which came bursts 
of easy laughter. The groups were apt to form around 
the jovial, handsome lieutenant of marines ; for Brooks 
was full of life and spirit, and a favorite among officers 
and men. Harry looked over there with longing eyes. 
He would like to be among them, and felt that he was 
better entitled to a place there than some of the young 
midshipmen, who knew far less than he did about sail- 
ing or fighting a vessel. He wondered if he might be 
promoted to a midshipman’s berth, if he should do his 
part well in the coming battle. 

In the meantime, important matters were being dis- 
cussed in the cabin. Captain Perry made a statement 
of the character and strength of the vessels in the en- 


242 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


emy’s fleet. He outlined his plan of attack, and what 
should be done to overcome their superiority in length 
of range. He reserved for the Lawrence the hardest 
and most dangerous task, to attack the Detroit, and as- 
signed the duty of meeting the Queen Charlotte to 
Captain Elliott with the Niagara. He went on to speak 
of his pleasure in having Captain Elliott as his second 
officer. The commander then gave to each one his 
written instructions for their action in the battle, the 
name of the enemy’s vessel they were to attack, their 
position in the line, and every detail necessary for their 
conduct. He also gave them a little talk about the 
contingencies which might arise, and his wishes for 
their conduct under these conditions. 

Captain Perry then sent for the purser, Mr. Hamble- 
ton, and asked him to bring in the burgee which he had 
made for the flagship. This battle-flag was of blue 
silk, about nine feet square. Across the center two 
lines of white letters, about a foot in height, blazoned 
the immortal words of Lawrence, 

DON’T GIVE UP 
THE SHIP. 

“The hoisting of this flag will be the signal for going 
into action,” he said. 

The commanders examined the flag with interest, 



The hoisting oe this flag will be the signal for 
GOING INTO ACTION, SAID PERRl 






I 


















The Battle Flag Is Hoisted. ' 


243 


and heard the purser tell how it was made by the young 
women at Erie. Then Captain Perry gave his closing 
instructions : 

“I intend from the beginning to bring the enemy into 
close action with the utmost rapidity, in order to over- 
come his advantage in long guns, and to make the best 
use of our heavy carronades. I will end this confer- 
ence by reminding you all of Lord Nelson’s weighty 
charge to his officers : 

“ Tf you lay your enemy close alongside, you cannot 
be out of your place / 99 

Soon after this the officers retired to their vessels, 
and quiet settled on the fleet, and when the men swung 
themselves into their hammocks they dropped asleep, 
although they knew the morning might usher in a 
bloody battle. 

Second Lieutenant Dulaney Forrest was the officer 
of the deck in the morning watch, and soon after 
dawn the lookout at the masthead of the Lawrence 
shouted, 

“Sail ho!” 

“Where away?” called the lieutenant. 

“Nor’west by Nor’, Sir.” 

The lieutenant immediately went below and called 
Captain Perry, and in a few moments he was on deck, 
just as the peak of another vessel lifted above the hori- 
zon. 

“Lieutenant, set the signal, 


244 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“Under way to get,” 

“and have all hands called to quarters.” 

“Bosun, call the men to quarters,” Lieutenant For- 
rest called, as he hurried away to get the signal flag. 
A few minutes later every one but the sick was in his 
station, and all eyes were turned to the northwest, 
where, one by one, the enemy’s vessels now appeared, 
until six were counted. 

Then came orders sharp and quick, to weigh anchor, 
and sending the topmen aloft to unfurl the sails. The 
breeze, however, was very light, and the boats were 
lowered and cables payed out to tow the laggard fleet 
out into the open lake, and the gunboats got out their 
sweeps to help get under way. The passage was a 
narrow one, and the wind from the southwest forced 
them to make frequent tacks. Westward lay Rattle- 
snake Island and north of it Middle Bass, the direct 
passage to Detroit river lying between these two 
islands. 

Barclay’s fleet came steadily on towards the group 
of islands, and it appeared that he was not trying to 
slip by, but seeking a battle. This movement showed 
his confidence in the ability of his fleet to meet the 
Americans. As the sun rose higher, and their course 
could be determined, Perry said to his officers, 

“Barclay intends to fight. He thinks he can beat us, 
and in some respects his fleet has a superiority over 
ours. But I have a strong faith that this day we will 


The Battle Flag Is Hoisted. , 


245 


destroy them, or compel them to surrender. Our men 
have been well trained and drilled ; and the recent naval 
fights have shown, that with anything like equal equip- 
ment, the Americans have always won.” 

“We all believe it,” Lieutenant Forrest replied, 
“The men, who can get on deck, are eager to show their 
valor, and the sick ones are cursing their fate that they 
can not do their part.” 

“How many are on the sick list this morning?” 

“Thirty-four.” 

“That leaves us one hundred and three effective 
men.” 

Harry was anxiously watching for a change in the 
wind, which was still very light and from the south- 
west. He knew that Captain Perry would want to 
have the weather gage of the enemy, in order to sail in 
upon them with the utmost speed, before their long 
guns could cripple the fleet. But Barclay’s fleet was 
in such a position that this was impossible, if Perry 
took the shortest way out of the channel of the islands. 
Perry would be obliged to beat around Snake Island. 
The light wind gave them little headway, and time 
was passing. The commander was walking about im- 
patiently, and discussing the matter with Sailing-mas- 
ter Taylor. Perry began to fear that Barclay might 
escape to Long Point after all, for it was past nine 
o’clock, and they were still in the lee of Snake Island. 


246 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“We must wear ship and run to the leeward of the 
islands,” he said to Mr. Taylor. 

“If you do, Barclay will force you to fight him to 
the leeward.” 

“I don’t care. To windward or to leeward, they 
shall fight this day.” 

Mr. Taylor then gave the necessary orders to run 
before the wind, but hardly had the sails been changed 
and the yards braced, when the wind changed to the 
southeast. New orders were at once given to the men 
on the yards, and other men sent aloft, and soon the 
whole squadron with all sails set was steadily moving 
out on the windward of Snake Island. 

As Harry came down the ratlines the sergeant of the 
Kentuckians beckoned to him, and he went to him. 

“Say, mate, what does all this change of sails 
mean? We’uns don’t understand it.” 

“Captain Perry wants to keep the weather gage of 
the enemy.” 

“That’s worse than Shawnee jabber to we’uns.” 

“Well, I’ll try to explain,” Harry said with a laugh, 
“If we keep on the windward side of the enemy, we can 
sail up to him more rapidly than if we were on the 
lee, that side,” pointing to the northeast. “Their long 
guns will shoot farther than these heavy guns. We 
want to get close as soon as possible, so our heavy guns 
will break them up.” 

“And if we had to come up on the lee, what then?” 


The Battle Flag Is Hoisted. 


247 


“They would have the wind in their favor, but would 
have to come up bows on, and could not fire a broad- 
side. And we could use our broadsides.” 

“Then I hope we will have the wind on them, and 
can rush the fight as fast as Perry can crowd on sail.” 

“Well that is what we want. But whatever our 
luck is in the wind, our commander will force the fight- 
ing. He knows what to do in all the conditions of 
wind and water.” 

While they were beating around the island Perry, af- 
ter frequent examinations of Barclay’s fleet with his 
glass, was satisfied that their line was not arranged as 
he had supposed it would be. He had expected that 
the Queen Charlotte would be in the lead, and had 
placed the Niagara in the van to meet her. So he sig- 
nalled the Niagara to heave to, and talked with Cap- 
tain Brevoort, who knew all of the enemy’s vessels ex- 
cept the Detroit. Brevoort informed Captain Perry 
that the schooner Chippewa was in the lead, the Detroit 
second as all could see ; then the brig Hunter ; then the 
Queen; the schooner, Lady Provost, and the sloop, 
Little Belt. 

Perry then changed his line to meet this arrange- 
ment. The Lawrence in the van, with the Scorpion 
and Ariel on the weather bow to engage the Chippewa 
and the flagship; the Caledonia to follow the Lawrence 
to meet the Hunter; the Niagara to engage the Queen 
Charlotte ; the Somers, Porcupine, Tigress and Trippe 


248 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


to take care of the Lady Provost and Little Belt, as 
they came on the enemy’s extreme left. 

It was after ten o’clock when the fleet cleared Rattle- 
snake Island, and, with a three knot breeze from the 
southeast, formed in line, and sailed on toward the en- 
emy, distant six or eight miles nearly north. The Eng- 
lish fleet was lying hove to on the port tack, their bows 
to the westward, and as all of them had just been paint- 
ed they looked like a flock of beautiful canvas back 
ducks to the tall Kentucky sergeant, who had been 
so friendly with Harry Macy. 

“We have no cover now. Won’t the pesky birds fly 
up before we git dost enough to wing ’em?” 

“I don’t understand you,” Harry answered. 

“I can’t git it outen my head that we are running on 
a flock of ducks or geese, and they will fly up before 
we git a line on ’em.” 

“They will do more than quack or hiss, when you 
tackle them. No danger of their flying away now. 
They are waiting, and will give us a shower of iron hail 
before we get in range.” 

The Lawrence was cleared for action. The bo’sun 
piped the topmen below, and all were sent down to 
bring up their hammocks. These were placed in cas- 
ings on the top of the bulwarks, as a protection to the 
men from the fire of marines in the tops of the enemy’s 
vessels. Shot were laid in the racks or piled up in 
grummets of rope. Boys were running to the mag- 


The Battle Flag Is Hoiste,d. 


249 


azine for cartridges, which they carried in covered 
buckets. Squads of men were sent below to bring up 
the boarding weapons, pikes, cutlasses and pistols. 
These were stacked up at the foot of the masts. Buck- 
ets of water were dashed over the decks and sand 
sprinkled on them. Why this was done was a mys- 
tery to the landsmen, but all were too busy for explana- 
tions. 

Harry Macy was sent aloft to examine all the rigging 
and sails, blocks, yards, stays and braces, and reported 
all in perfect order. Then Lieutenant Yarnall ordered 
the boatswain to get out preventer braces and reeve 
them fore and aft, and for a while the topmen were 
busy running these in the blocks, and binding together 
the upper masts and sails, which would soon be cut 
and torn by the iron hail. 

The commander now came forward, followed by his 
brother Alexander, carrying the blue silk battle flag. 
Stepping up on a gun-slide, he called the men all 
around him, and taking the flag, shook out its glis- 
tening folds until the motto could be seen by all. 

“My brave lads ! This flag contains the last words of 
Captain Lawrence, ‘Don’t give up the ship.’ It is my 
charge, as we go into battle. Shall I hoist it?” 

“Ay! Ay! Sir!” every seaman answered, and the ma- 
rines joined in with a hearty response. Then Midship- 
man Perry fastened the flag to the line, and Lieutenant 
Yarnall hauled it up to the main royal-masthead. 


250 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Every vessel saw the signal, and as the folds were 
shaken out by the breeze and the men below gave three 
hearty cheers, the men on the other vessels repeated the 
cheers. 

“Let the men have their noonday drink, and bring 
out the bread bags,” the commander said to Yarnall. 
Then he passed all around the deck, examining the 
guns in turn. These were all upon the spar deck, for 
the vessels were too shallow to permit a gun deck be- 
low. The men were partly protected by the bulwarks 
on the brigs, but the schooners and sloops were with- 
out these, and the men fought without any cover. The 
gun crews opened the ports, and drew the guns to and 
fro in their slides to show that all were in perfect order. 

In the first division were some men from the Consti- 
tution. These old fighters saw that the day was going 
to be a hot one, and had stripped off all unnecessary 
clothes. Most of them wore only shirts and trousers, 
and had wrapped a bandanna around their heads, and a 
few men took off their shirts. 

“Well boys, are you all ready?” 

“Ay Sir. All ready, Captain !” they answered, touch- 
ing their foreheads. 

“I need not say anything to you. You know how to 
beat those fellows.” 

Next he came to the gun where Tom Starbuck was in 
charge, for the gun-captain was sick. And beyond it 
on the next gun were other men whom he had trained 
on Long Island Sound. His dark eyes kindled as he 


The Battle Flag Is Hoisted. 


251 


saw them fully prepared and eager to do the cour- 
ageous work, for which he had trained them. 

“Here are my Newport boys ! They will do their duty 
I warrant.” 

“We are ready, Sir,” Tom replied. “I wish the rest 
of our shipmates were here.” 

“You utter my own wish, Tom,” Captain Perry 
answered, and over his face there passed an unmis- 
takable shade of regret, as he thought of the injustice 
of taking his men away from him when he needed them 
so much. Then with a smile he turned to Tom. 

“How glad I am to see you here, sober, healthy, 
strong, a fine young seaman, ready to defend your 
country’s honor.” 

“I owe it all to you, Sir,” Tom replied in a low voice. 
Captain Perry gave him another look, in which there 
passed from the one to the other the recognition of a 
strong, mutual regard. Then he went on his rounds 
about the ship, with a few words to each crew, which 
knit to him the heart of every man on deck, and roused 
the enthusiasm of all to do their duty at all hazards 
that day. 

Now came more than an hour of silent waiting, as 
the fleet slowly approached the enemy under a light 
breeze of three knots. The men were closely stationed 
at quarters. None but the topmen and sailors at the 
ropes were allowed to move, and no talking was 
permitted. The only sounds were the creaking of the 


252 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


blocks, and the flapping of the canvas, or the bosun’s 
whistle, and the sharp orders of Lieutenant Yarnall. 

The commander went below, and looked over his 
papers. His official papers, signals, etc. were wrapped 
up, and heavy lead plates tied about them. He called 
purser Hambleton, and said to him, 

“If I should be killed, and the vessel fall into the 
hands of the enemy cast these overboard at once.” 

He tore up his wife’s letters and threw them out of 
a porthole. 

“Our lives are in God’s hands. My wife is praying 
for me. The enemy shall not read her sacred 
messages.” 

In a moment he added, 

“This is the most important day in my life. I pray 
God He may give us the victory.” 

Many and serious were the thoughts of the men as 
the fleet slowly crept on into battle. Up in the tops 
were some of the best Kentucky sharpshooters. And 
now the most inspiring sight was seen, as one by one 
the sick men who could walk came slowly up the 
gangway, and asked that they might be allowed to 
have their part in the battle. The sun was mounting 
to the zenith, and they knew they would soon be in 
range of the long guns of the Detroit. Harry at his 
post was crowding on all sail, but his thoughts went 
out to his mother and to Ruth, and then in a wordless 
prayer that he might not flinch in the conflict, but be 
able to achieve something for his country. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


The Lawrence Shattered. 

The wind had fallen off toward noon, and the larger 
vessels were all in line, within half cable length, but 
the gunboats were far behind, and the Trippe was two 
miles astern. The glasses showed that Lieutenant 
Stevens had his sweeps in motion, and boats ahead 
towing, in order to bring her up into action. At a 
quarter to twelve the men heard the mellow notes of a 
bugle on the Detroit and loud cheers and a band. 
Then a puff of white smoke was seen, and a shot came 
whistling towards the Lawrence, but fell short. 

Perry ordered the signal to be hoisted. 

“Engage as you come up, every one against his 
opponent, in the line before designated.” 

The second shot from the Detroit took effect on the 
Lawrence, passing through both her bulwarks. 

Then Perry signalled Mr. Champlin to begin firing 
from the Scorpion with his long thirty-two pounder. 
The gun was immediately fired, and Perry saw that 
the shot struck the Detroit. He ordered his bow 
chaser to begin firing, and the Caledonia and the 
Niagara opened fire with their long guns. At twelve 
o'clock Perry brought the Lawrence by the wind, and 
the first division of her carronades was fired, but the 
253 


254 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


shot fell short. So Perry ordered all sail to be made, 
and directed Lieutenant Forrest with his trumpet to 
pass the order along, that every vessel should close 
up. 

The Lawrence now passed ahead, and the Niagara 
did not follow her. Barclay’s fleet being smaller in 
number and in a compact line, was able to concen- 
trate the fire of their three larger vessels on the 
Lawrence. The Queen Charlotte and Hunter both 
had time to pour in a heavy fire, the first shot from 
the Queen, fired by John Chapman, wounded the 
mainmast of Perry’s flagship. 

Captain Finnis knew from the disposition of the 
vessels that the Niagara was designated as his oppon- 
ent, and waited for her to come up. After a while 
seeing that her mainsail was furled, and her main 
topsail was aback, the Queen Charlotte filled her main- 
sail, and passed the Hunter, and coming up astern of 
the Detroit, at close range raked the Lawrence fore 
and aft. The English brigs paid little attention to 
Perry’s smaller vessels, evidently intending to destroy 
the Lawrence. The hot fire of thirty-four guns were 
pouring upon her for fully two hours, and it was not 
long until Perry had only seven guns of his starboard 
battery to use against them. One by one they were 
gradually dismounted, but so fiercely were they used 
that the Detroit suffered severely. 

The Ariel and Scorpion also rendered effective aid, 


The Lawrence Shattered 


255 


and Lieutenant Turner was striving to bring up the 
Caledonia to engage the Hunter. The brig was a 
slow sailor, having been built for a freight boat, but Mr. 
Chase was handling her well, and crowding on sail 
in a very skillful way. The Niagara's station in the 
line was beyond the Caledonia, a half cable’s length. 
This was Captain Elliott’s excuse for his delay in 
coming up to the relief of the Lawrence. 

Harry Macy was not at the guns, but he was busy 
in his own important tasks. The enemy’s shot and 
grape were cutting up the sails and spars and rigging 
of the Lawrence. It required quick work to repair 
the braces and halyards; to keep the sails trimmed, 
that the Lawrence might be able to get close to the 
Detroit. She did move steadily on, crippled as she 
was, while her consort, the Niagara, kept back for more 
than a mile, out of range of the enemy’s shot, and 
using only her own long guns. 

After sometime Captain Elliott hailed the Caledonia 
and ordered Lieutenant Turner to bear up, and make 
room for the Niagara to pass to the assistance of the 
Lawrence. Turner might have refused, as he was in 
his place, and using all efforts to close up with the 
Hunter, and Captain Elliott had no authority to order 
him to leave his place; but, seeing the distress of the 
flagship, he put his helm up, and gave way for the 
Niagara. But the Niagara did not push ahead, re- 


256 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


maining at her present distance, with her mainsail 
furled, and jib brailed up, and her main topsail aback. 

Turner after some delay, ordered Mr. Chase to make 
sail again, and he soon brought his little brig into 
close action. Lieutenant Yarnall was working the 
first division, and Forrest the second division of the 
starboard guns, and Mr. Hambleton was firing the 
aft long range gun at the Hunter, which lay on her 
quarter. Captain Barclay supposed from Perry’s 
steady approach that he intended to board the Detroit, 
and ordered his marines to prepare to resist boarders. 
If the Lawrence had been supported by the Niagara 
the victory would soon have been won, and the carnage 
on the Lawrence would have been far less. 

As Harry saw the Queen Charlotte coming astern 
of the Detroit to join in the murderous attack, he 
was just over the heads of Captain Perry and Sailing- 
Master Taylor. 

Taylor looked about for the Niagara, and was 
astonished to see that she was more than a mile 
astern. He said to Perry, 

“Captain, look at the Niagara! Why does she not 
come up? Can anything have happened to keep her 
out of the fight?” 

“She seems uninjured,” Perry replied as he turned 
his glass on her. “She cannot use her carronades at 
that distance, nor can she suffer much.” 

“She has been firing her fore long gun and nothing 


The Lawrence Shattered 


257 


else. Look at the brave fight Turner is making with 
his three guns. If Elliott was up now on our port 
with his big guns, we would soon smash them.” 

The scene as Harry saw it was a lurid one. The 
guns of the Lawrence were being fired rapidly and 
with great precision. The noise was incessant, but 
there was wind enough to lift the smoke. The heavy 
rumble of the guns as they were drawn back and 
forth in their slides, and the concussion of their 
discharge shook the deck. Every few moments came 
the crash of a shot in the bulwarks or through the 
hull, or in the masts. The sails were torn to ribbons 
and the braces were cut up by chain and grape shot. 
The splinters were flying, and yards and heavy spars 
falling, and sometimes struck the men, who had no 
time to look aloft to avoid the danger. And before 
long the rigging was so cut up that it fell over the 
sails, and the men could not trim the yards, and the 
helmsmen could no longer control the ship. Harry 
could do no more aloft, and Mr. Taylor ordered him 
below to help fire the guns. 

Just then there came a call from the first mate, 
James Patterson, for help. He had gone aloft to help 
keep the ship free from the wreckage, and had cut 
away some of the wounded yards, and tied up broken 
braces. A chain shot broke a spar above him, and 
the line to which he was clinging was jerked violently 
upward. James was dangling in the air but began to 


258 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


draw himself up hand over hand to a brace. A shot 
struck his left arm, and broke it. He nerved himself 
to the utmost effort that was in him and held on, and 
swung his body until he got a leg over the brace. 
Harry answered his yell, and jumped into the shrouds. 
He got above him and managed to throw him a 
halyard flying loose, down which James slid to the 
deck. 

Dr. Parsons, when he saw that arm, said the bone 
was so shattered it must come off, and twisted a band 
around it to stop its bleeding. 

“Can you do it now?” 

“Impossible. Look at these twenty men, bleeding 
like stuck pigs, and more coming.” 

“Then I’ll go on deck again. I can, at least, pull on 
a rope, or a gun. Poor Tom is badly hurt by a splinter, 
but standing to his gun.” 

Yes. It was true that Tom had been struck by a 
ragged stick as it fell upon his gun. His face was 
terribly scratched, and his right eye black and blue 
and closed up. Perry had ordered Harry to take a 
place on Tom’s crew, which had lost a loader and a 
tackleman. Two of the guns of the second division, 
and three of the first were now dismounted, and 
many of the gunners dead or badly wounded. 

As the gun was run out, Tom said, 

“Sight her, Harry. I can’t see straight with only 
one eye.” 


The Lawrence Shattered 


259 


A moment's quick aim, and a turn of the screw, then 
a touch with the match, and Harry saw the shot carry 
away the mainmast of the Detroit. 

“Well aimed, mate. You have made a schooner of 
her.” 

Harry had not known that his commander was 
near. The praise quickened his pulse and he said: 

‘Til try to make her a sloop, Sir.” 

“Try a shot at the mast of the Charlotte,” Perry 
answered. 

But just then Perry turned at a cry from Lieutenant 
Forrest, who had been standing at his side. He had 
fallen to the deck, struck by a chain shot. Captain 
Perry raised him up and quickly examined him, but 
found no wound. Mr. Forrest came to in a moment 
and Perry said, 

“You are not hurt. It was a spent shot, and I’m 
glad you escaped.” 

Forrest put his hand in his waistcoat and felt his 
breast. 

“No, I’m not injured, but this is my shot,” he said, 
drawing it out of his clothing and looking at it, and 
then he put it in his pocket. Captain Perry turned 
again to the gun crew. The gun had been loaded and 
was being drawn out to be fired. 

“Captain, here goes for the mainmast of the Queen 
Charlotte.” Tom said touching his hat. At that instant 
a twenty-four pound ball struck him in the chest, and 


260 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


hurled his body amidships. The two officers drew his 
body out of the wreckage at the foot of the mast, and 
saw that he was dead. Perry called up two of the 
Kentuckians to take the body to the place, where a 
dozen other bodies were lying. And such was the 
stress of the battle that Harry Macy could not take 
a moment’s time to go to his old playmate’s side even 
in that tragic and horrible end of his promising life. 
And when he returned Captain Perry placed him in 
command of the gun. 

Soon after Forrest was struck he looked astern, to 
see what the Niagara was doing, and was astonished 
to see that she was still a mile in the rear. He spoke 
to Perry about it, and said he could not understand 
why she did not come up to help the Lawrence in their 
extremity. Lieutenant Brooks also came across the 
deck, and asked what was the matter with the Niagara. 

“We need her help,” he said to Forrest. “Why is 
she not taking her part in this terrible fight? Why 
has she allowed those three big ships to pour all their 
shot into us? If she had kept the Charlotte off, we 
might have obliged the Detroit to strike her colors. 
What a magnificent fighter Perry is! If the Niagara 
could be brought up now, she could stop this awful 
storm of grape and cannister.” 

“Elliott is no coward,” Forrest replied. “He has 
some other reason for holding back.” 

A light flashed into Brooks’ mind, and he seemed 


The Lawrence Shattered 


261 


to understand all in that moment. He seemed to be 
almost in despair, and then a hot burst of anger flamed 
from him. 

“Forrest, I think I will be carried off in this storm 
of detth. I am willing to die, if my life will help 
gain tie victory. But I have my opinion of an officer 
who will hold his ship out of the fight, until his com- 
mander and his officers are killed and the flagship a 
wreck, and then sail in to receive the surrender of the 
enemy.” 

Forrest made no answer, and there was no time for 
further talk, and each one turned to their duties. It 
was about this time that Alexander Perry, who was 
now a midshipman, came running back to the com- 
mander’s side to take more orders about the ship. 
His hat had been pierced by bullets, and his jacket 
torn by splinters. A heavy ball struck one of the 
hammocks, and as it flew from the nettings it knocked 
the boy down. Perry bent over him in great anxiety, 
but happily the ball had missed him, and he was only 
stunned. Perry lifted him up, and as he revived, 
spoke quietly to allay any feeling of fright. 

“You see, Aleck, you are not hurt. Get up and 
attend to your duty, like the brave boy you are. Every 
one is needed now.” 

“I will, Sir,” the boy answered trying to command 
his voice, and in a few moments he was again carrying 
messages. He shuddered at the frightful scenes on 


262 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


the deck, but went bravely about his duty. Anc one 
of the most horrible incidents happened as he tame 
back for the captain’s orders. 

Lieutenant Brooks was talking to Perry about the 
battle, when a ball struck Brooks on the hi#, and 
dashed him against the larboard bulwarks. Perry 
ran to his side, and saw that his thigh was dreadfully 
shattered. 

“Call some of his marines,” he said to Alexander. 
The pain of his wound was most intense, and Brooks 
could not bear the suffering. He was moaning and 
groaning, as the commander bent over him and 
straightened his body. 

“Don’t touch me. I can’t bear it. Shoot me, Perry. 
Put me out of this misery.” 

Just then his colored boy came by, carrying a cart- 
ridge from the magazine. He threw himself down on 
the deck, crying frantically, 

“Oh Massa, Yoh is daid! What ’come of poh Sam 
now !” 

But although these frightful scenes were sufficient 
to unman one of a tender, sympathetic nature, like 
Oliver Perry, yet he did not allow his feelings to over- 
come him. He realized the responsibilities resting 
upon him as the commanding officer. He knew that 
he must have all his faculties under complete control, 
that he might be ready for every emergency of the 
conflict. Thankful for his own safety, he passed about 


The Lawrence Shattered 


263 


the ship, animating officers and men by his cheerful 
and re-assuring words. The greatness of the man 
came out in this critical hour, and he was equal to 
the demands made upon his superior intelligence and 
ability. Not excited or over-wrought, he gave his 
attention to the grave crisis confronting him. He 
seemed to know instantly what should be done, and 
his orders were quickly given in his natural voice and 
in a quiet manner. 

The men were inspired by his words and conduct, 
and strengthened with new courage, although the fight 
was going against them. It seemed a miracle to them 
that his life was spared, and they looked to him as 
they took hold of the ropes, and picked up swabs and 
rammers, or reloaded their rifles. Seeing that he was 
watching them as they fought, they resolved to fight 
on steadily to the end ; and they felt as long as 
Perry was spared, they had hope of victory. 

But not all the scenes of this terrific storm of iron 
hail were so somber. Even amidst the harvest of 
death there were incidents which caused smiles and 
laughter. Early in the fight Lieutenant Yarnall came 
to Perry, saying, 

“Captain, I must have more officers for the guns 
in my division, for I have lost my best men/’ 

“I will detail men for you. But what is the matter 
with your face, Lieutenant? I would hardly know 
you.” 


264 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“A musket ball scratched my forehead, and another 
plowed along my neck. Didn’t hurt me much, but bled 
freely.” 

“Did you go below to the surgeon?” 

“Oh yes. Dr. Parsons tied it up with my hand- 
kerchief, and I returned to duty. I lost the bandage 
off.” 

“But your nose, Yarnall! It’s as big as my fist.” 

“Struck by a splinter from the bulwarks. The 
splinters are more deadly than Barclay’s grape.” 

Perry sent him men from the larboard guns which 
were not in action, but the lieutenant soon came back 
with the same request. Two guns had been dis- 
mounted and a good many of his men disabled. 

“I have no more men to spare. See how they are 
lying here, and the empty places at the guns. You 
must make the best use of your crews which are left.” 

Yarnall went back to his guns, and took a hand 
himself in loading and firing them. The exertion and 
heat made his wounds bleed afresh, and he had nothing 
to wipe his face. A shot broke one of the hammocks 
open, and the wind carried the down from it in a 
cloud. The hammocks had been stuffed with the down 
of the cat-tail reed. It flew in the faces of the men 
at the guns, and stuck fast on the lieutenant’s bloody 
countenance. He had no time to think of the trifling 
matter of how he looked. His men smiled, and winked 
at each other, but he gave them no chance to say a 


The Lawrence Shattered 


265 


word. Backward and forward the guns were hauled 
with great rapidity, and fired with precision and 
terrible effect at the Detroit, until the last one was 
crashed from its carriage, and the noble men who 
worked it were either dead or broken in arms and 
legs. 

Lieutenant Yarnall went below to the cockpit. Dr. 
Parsons stopped a moment in his grim duties and 
smiled, for Yarnall’s face looked like a huge owl. Ihe 
wounded men stopped their groaning, and some gave 
was to hysterical laughter, and one man said, 

“The devil has come for his own.” 

Captain Perry had a small dog on board, which 
became greatly excited by the noice, and ran about 
in the way of the men. He was shut up in the lower 
part of the china closet. One of the many shots, which 
pierced the hull of the Lawrence, crashed through the 
closet, breaking the dishes, and tearing a hole in the 
door. The little dog put his head through the hole, 
and began howling again, and kept it up until some 
one stopped up the hole. 

The carnage on the Lawrence was fearful. One 
hundred and three men entered the fight, the rest being 
sick. Twenty of them were killed and sixty-one were 
wounded. In the hottest of the battle Perry stepped 
to a skylight above the cockpit and called down, 

“Doctor, can you let me have one of your men?” 
Dr. Parsons sent him up one of the six men detailed 


266 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


to aid him. Again and again Perry asked for another 
man, and at last Parsons replied: 

“You have them all.” 

“Is there any one below, who can pull a rope ?” Perry 
asked. Three of the wounded men crawled up on deck, 
and put a hand to move the last guns that were fired. 

One of the pathetic incidents of this battle was the 
death of a Narragansett Indian, one of the last of that 
warlike tribe from Rhode Island. His name was 
Charles Pohig, and he had enlisted with Perry’s men 
at Newport to fight for the nation, against which his 
ancestors had waged an unavailing warfare. Now 
far from his native shores he fell on the deck of the 
Lawrence with a broken leg. He was carried to the 
cockpit, and Dr. Parsons had bound it up, and he was 
being moved from the table, when a cannon ball swept 
him across the room, instantly killing him. 

Not long afterwards Midshipman Laub went below 
to have a wound dressed. He was bending over, 
when he was killed in the same way that the Indian 
had been struck down, and the ball passed within a 
few inches of Dr. Parsons’ head. 












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The last shot oh the Lawrence 



CHAPTER XXIII. 


Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara. 

At the end of two hours and a half of such fighting 
there was only one starboard carronade left, and not 
men enough to handle it. Perry took hold of it him- 
self. Lieutenant Forrest and Purser Hambleton helped 
haul it back, Alexander Perry brought the cartridges, 
Harry loaded it, and Perry aimed, and fired it. But 
very soon this gun was silenced by a smashing shot, 
and it was then that Harry Macy received his first 
wound. A shower of grape shot, aimed at the group 
passed over their heads, but one of the balls struck Mr. 
Hambleton in the shoulder, breaking the bone. Captain 
Perry helped him to the gangway, and Dr. Parsons 
came to him and took him to the table. As Perry 
stepped back again he saw Harry looking pretty white, 
and holding his right arm up by his left hand. 

“Macy, are you hurt?” he asked. 

“Yes, I’m caught at last. My right arm is broken, 
I think.” 

“I am sorry. Go to Dr. Parsons at once. Do you 
need help?” 

“Oh no! I was faint for a moment. But that has 
passed ofT. The surgeon will be busy with Mr. 
267 


268 


Don't Give Up the Ship 


Hambleton, and I would rather stay on deck in the 
air than in that bloody hole below.” 

So Harry sat down where he was a little sheltered, 
and then Dick Riley came over and tied a bandage 
around his arm and stopped the bleeding. Harry 
heard the officers talking. 

“The last gun is silenced, and we have but twenty 
men unhurt,” the Lieutenant said. “If we could only 
yaw her around, and use our larboard guns we might 
do something yet.” 

“Look at the Niagara. She’s coming up at last.” 
Taylor exclaimed. 

They looked over the larboard bulwarks, and saw 
her more than a half mile away, passing up to the 
head of the enemy’s line. 

“She seems to be uninjured.” Perry said, and as 
they stood watching her course for a few moments, 
many thoughts passed through the commander’s mind. 
He fully realized the gravity of the situation. He 
knew that Proctor and Tecumtha had gathered a 
strong army of five thousand men at Malden. They 
expected Barclay to clear the lake of Perry’s fleet, 
and then they would cross into Ohio and sweep the 
northern settlements. He knew also the importance of 
reclaiming Detroit from the British, for Hull had 
surrendered all that northern territory to them. If 
at the end of the war they still had possession of 
Detroit, the English government would carry out their 


Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara 269 


long cherished plan of taking from the United States 
a large part of their western possessions, and drawing 
the boundary line from Lake Erie to the Ohio river, 
and then down the Mississippi to its mouth. 

An empire was at stake, as well as the lives and 
property of many thousands of settlers in Ohio and 
Indiana territory. No! he could not surrender to 
Barclay until the last gun of his fleet had been fired, 
and all his resources for fighting had not yet been 
exhausted. 

“That brig will not help us,” Forrest exclaimed. 
“See how he keeps off. He will not come to close 
action.” 

But by this time Perry’s quick mind had reached the 
right solution of these great difficulties. 

“I’ll fetch him up,” he announced, and turned to 
Harry. 

“Mate, call the men together. There’s one boat 
left, and that will be our salvation.” 

“Forrest have that boat lowered.” 

“Yarnall, I leave you in charge of the Lewrence. 
You must use your own judgment as to what must be 
done.” 

Four men were sent down to the boat, and Perry 
stepped to the larboard gangway, and the officers 
stood by, hoping for his safety and success. And then 
Perry said, and they knew how much his words meant, 

“If a victory is to be gained, I will gain it.” 


270 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Perry had his pennant on his arm, and just as he 
stepped into the boat Hosea Sargent hauled down the 
blue battle-flag and running to the gangway, thew it 
down to the commander. He caught it and threw it 
over his shoulder, and so standing, ordered the men to 
pull away to the Niagara. 

The smoke at first concealed that little craft, 
freighted with the hopes of the nation, and bearing 
also the destiny of millions of people, who were to 
dwell in those great states which circle around the 
inland lakes. As the boat shot out under the lee of 
the Caledonia it was seen, and drew the fire of the 
British. John Chapman of the Queen Charlotte fired a 
shot which he claimed hit the boat, but this could 
hardly have been the case, for it was used again by 
Captain Elliott. But the shot from cannon and 
muskets flew around the craft, splashing the water 
over the oarsmen, and endangering Perry’s life. 
Regardless of the plunging shot, Perry stood erect 
with his blue banner around him, with grave anxiety 
watching the Niagara. The men urged him to sit 
down, but he remained standing. They were really 
alarmed for his safety, and finally declared they would 
stop rowing if he did not sit down. Then he yielded, 
and the men redoubled their efforts, for the Niagara’s 
sails were filling as the wind freshened and she was 
passing rapidly ahead. 

But the magnitude of Perry’s action was not in his 


Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara 271 

assuming the personal danger of such an act. It is 
not his courage that one should think of, for it was 
perhaps less dangerous than the deck of the Law- 
rence, but his high conception of his duty, and his 
readiness to grasp the opportunity of wresting vic- 
tory from the almost certain defeat. For, if he sur- 
rendered, it would be the surrender of the fleet. Other 
men, more easily daunted, might have surrendered: 
Perry resolved to use the last resource to gain the 
victory. 

This, the essential feature of Perry’s brilliant stroke 
of strategy was recognized by Barclay. He said in 
his report to his government : 

“The American Commodore, seeing that as yet the 
day was against him, and also the helpless condition 
of the Detroit, which ship was now a perfect wreck, 
principally from the fire of the gunboats, made a noble 
and, alas, too successful an effort to regain it, by pass- 
ing to the Niagara.” 

In a short time, less than fifteen minutes, the boat 
reached the Niagara. He went up to the deck on the 
port side, and was met at the top of the gangway by 
Captain Elliott, who took him by the hand, and asked 
him how the day was going. 

“Badly. I have lost nearly all my men, and my 
ship is a wreck. What are the gunboats doing, so 
far astern?” 


“I will go and bring them up.” 


272 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


“I wish you would,” the commander replied. Captain 
Elliott then went over the side into the boat which 
had brought Perry, and pulled away to the Somers. 
Captain Perry instantly made an examination of the 
Niagara. His quick eye took in the situation. Her 
masts, rigging and sails were uninjured, and but two 
men aboard had been wounded. His first order was 
to heave the vessel to, in order to stop her running out 
of the action. Then to brail up her main try sail and 
bear up with her helm. This brought her on a course 
at right angles to the course she had been running. 
Then he ordered up the signal for close action with 
the enemy. Quick and sharp the orders followed: 
“Make sail,” “Loose the top gallant sails,” “Board 
foretack,” “Haul in the weather braces,” “Put the helm 
up and keep the brig off.” 

When the ship came abreast of the Detroit, other 
orders rang out through the lieutenant’s trumpet, and 
in a few minutes after Perry had boarded her the 
Niagara broke through the enemy’s line. On her 
port lay the Detroit and Queen Charlotte, a foul of 
each other. 

As Barclay saw the Niagara coming swiftly down, 
reserving her fire, he instantly planned a maneuver to 
meet her. The Queen Charlotte was ordered to bear 
up, and pass to the leeward of the Detroit, and meet 
the Niagara first with a broadside, while Barclay 
swung the Detroit around to use her starboard guns. 


Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara 273 


Captain Finnis was dead, and Lieutenant Irvine 
attempted to execute the shrewd plan. But just as the 
Niagara passed the Detroit the wind failed, perhaps 
because she passed too near the larger vessel. Then 
a shot cut the down haul of one of her sails, and she 
could not be controlled, the wind rose again as sud- 
denly as it had ceased, and her bow sprit fouled with 
the missen mast of the Detroit. 

And now the veteran, Barclay, matched* his experi- 
ence and skill against the brilliant tactics of the youth- 
ful American Commander, and was out-generaled. It 
was the bold and rapid advance of Perry in the Niagara 
which disconcerted his plans, and decided the fate of 
the day. For if Perry had given Barclay time to 
reform his lines, and to bring all his batteries to bear 
on the Niagara, she might have been disabled as had 
been the Lawrence. 

When the Niagara, reserving her fire, came up 
within pistol shot of the Detroit and Queen, Perry 
gave the order to fire her starboard batteries. The 
guns loaded with grape and cannister wrought 
destruction on the ships and crowded crews. At the 
same time the larboard broadside was fired upon the 
Lady Provost. The tops of the Niagara were manned 
by the Kentucky sharpshooters, who cut off many of 
the men on the enemy’s ships. The Caledonia closely 
followed the Niagara, and the gunboats under the 


274 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


brisk wind at last coming in range, also delivered an 
effective and rapid fire with their long guns. 

A few moments of this awful tempest of death 
wrought the destruction of the British fleet. The 
Niagara was brought around by the wind on the star- 
board tack, with her main topsail aback, and passing 
a-lee of the enemy poured another broadside into the 
Hunter and the Queen. 

The British now ceased firing. An officer appeared 
on the taffrail of the Queen Charlotte, waving a white 
handkerchief fastened to a boarding spear. The 
Detroit immediately hauled down her flag, and the 
Hunter and Lady Provost followed, and fifteen 
minutes after the Niagara had turned her bow toward 
the enemy’s line, the battle was over. It opened at a 
quarter before twelve o'clock and at three p. m. the 
enemy surrendered. 

Two of the English vessels endeavored to escape. 
The fleets were now intermingled, and, under cover 
of the smoke, the little Belt and Chippewa put on all 
sail and slipped away toward Detroit river. But now 
the Trippe, which had so long been kept in the rear 
by the light wind, proved her good qualities and over- 
hauled the Chippewa, while the gallant Champlin, 
Perry’s cousin, who had fired the first gun in the battle, 
now followed the Little Belt with the Scorpion, and 
brought her to by the last shot that was fired. It 


Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara 275 


was ten o’clock that night when the Scorpion rejoined 
the fleet with the Little Belt in tow. 

As the smoke cleared away, Captain Perry learned 
what severe damage he had inflicted on the enemy. 
The masts of the Detroit were broken, and the missen- 
mast of the Queen Charlotte. Commodore Barclay 
had been twice wounded; first in the action with the 
Lawrence by a grape shot in his thigh; then, having 
been carried upon the deck, another grape shot from 
the Niagara had shatted his shoulder blade, making a 
dreadful wound. His first lieutenant, Garland, had 
been killed, and the purser severely wounded. Many 
of the guns of the Detroit had been dismounted, her 
masts broken, braces and stays shot away, her bul- 
warks shattered and her hull injured. The deck was 
slippery with blood, and strewn with the dead and 
wounded. 

On the Queen Charlotte Captain Finnis had been 
killed, and the first lieutenant mortally wounded ; and 
ship and crew had suffered terribly. Like losses were 
found on all the other vessels ; the Little Belt was the 
only one whose commander was fit for duty at the 
close of the action. The English loss as reported by 
the Commodore was forty-one killed, three being 
officers and ninety-four wounded, nine of them officers. 

On the Niagara there were two dead and twenty 
wounded, and on the Caledonia there were three 
wounded. 


276 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


As soon as the firing ceased the necessary arrange* 
ments were made to secure the enemy’s vessels and to 
confine the prisoners. Then an examination was made 
of the fleet, to clear away the wreckage, and to patch 
the vessels up and rig up masts and sails, so that 
they would be seaworthy, and could either sail or be 
towed to the harbor at Put-in-Bay. After giving or- 
ders for this, and detailing officers and marines to guard 
the captured vessels, Captain Perry sat down on the 
deck of the Niagara, and on the back of a letter wrote 
that laconic dispatch to General Harrison which has 
become famous. 

Dear General, 

We have met the enemy, and they are ours. Two 
ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. 

Yours with very great respect and esteem, 

O. H. Perry. 

Soon afterwards he went below, and in the cabin 
wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Hon Wil- 
liam Jones : 

U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Westernmost Sister, head 

of Lake Erie. 

Sept. 10, 1813, 4 P. M. 

Sir : — 

It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of 
the United States a signal victory over their enemies 
on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two 
ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop, have 


Perry Carries His Flag to the Niagara 277 


this moment surrendered to the force under my com- 
mand after a sharp conflict. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, very respectfully, 

Your Obedient Servant, 

O. H. Perry. 

This beautiful, clear, and concise letter reveals the 
modesty and the reverent spirit of Captain Perry. It 
was hurriedly written, in the very hour of victory. He 
does not allude to himself, but describes the victory to 
the divine favor to the force under his command. Nor 
does he dwell upon the terrific battle except as “a sharp 
conflict,” which had, in fact, only been successful be- 
cause of his great courage and supreme genius. 

These letters were delivered to Lieutenant Forrest, 
who was sent in a schooner to the mouth of Portage 
river, where General Harrison had established his 
camp. 

And now came one of those characteristic actions, 
which revealed the heart of Oliver Perry. He had not 
forgotten his own ship, and the officers and men who 
had fought so bravely at the beginning of the fight, and 
failed for lack of support. Their courage and persist- 
ence and sufferings had contributed largely to the 
victory. He had seen with pain from the deck of the 
Niagara the flag of the Lawrence come down. It was 
necessary to stop useless carnage, but he had kept the 
enemy too busy to take possession of her, and after 
drifting out of the line, the men of the Lawrence 


278 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


again hauled up her flag. She was now lying, a help- 
less wreck, some distance to the southeast. 

As Perry thought how his ship had suffered, he de- 
cided that he would not receive the surrender of the 
English fleet on board of the Niagara, but would re- 
serve that honor for the Lawrence. Now, having 
given all orders for the disposition of the fleets, he once 
more hauled down his pennant, and ordered a boat to 
carry him back to his own ship. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


Harry Macy’s Promotion. 

There were many sad scenes on the Lawrence as it 
slowly drifted out of the line of battle. When Lieu- 
tenant Yarnall, after consulting with Lieutenant For- 
rest and Sailing-master Taylor, and with their ap- 
proval, hauled down the colors in order to stop the use- 
less shedding of blood, the sailors and marines cried 
out with desperation against the surrender, 

“Sink the ship. Let us all sink together,” and some 
of them refused the aid of the surgeon, preferring to 
die. 

Mr. Hambleton after his wound was dressed went 
into the cabin, and lay down on a hammock on the 
floor beside Lieutenant Brooks. The intense suffering 
from Brooks’ wound had abated, and the feverish feel- 
ing was rising, and gave his face a glow which reflected 
the exaltation of his spirit. Hambleton thought he 
had never seen his friend look so handsome. Brooks 
asked how the battle was going. Hambleton told him 
of the surrender of the Lawrence, and that Perry was 
on the Niagara, and bringing her into the action. Then 
Brooks began to talk, and gave expression to some of 
his most exalted thoughts. He hoped Perry would 
win the day, and that the war would be carried on with 
279 


280 


Don't Give Up the Ship 


vigor, and America triumph. He saw in a vision the 
growth and coming glory of the United States. Then 
he spoke of his father, who had been governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, and sent messages to him and his family, 
and he distinctly charged Hambleton with that final 
message. Then he thought of Sam, his colored boy, 
and his last word was to ask Hambleton to look after 
Sam. 

About a quarter of an hour passed in quiet, and then 
Hambleton heard loud chering, repeated in a feeble 
way by the survivors on the Lawrence. He called to 
Dr. Parsons asking what the good news was, and was 
told that Barclay had surrendered his fleet. He turned 
again to Brooks to tell him the glad tidings, but that 
noble spirit had departed before hearing of the victory. 

When Perry stepped again upon the deck of the 
Lawrence, conflicting sensations passed through his 
great heart. He was now the victor of a proud Brit- 
ish fleet, but his thoughts probably dwelt more upon 
the dreadful loss of his officers and men, and the wreck 
of his vessel. Her masts were broken and bulwarks 
split, and the deck strewn with great guns, dismounted, 
and the wreckage of sails and rigging was hanging 
down from the stumps of the masts. 

But fourteen of his men were on deck to receive him. 
Dr. Parsons came to the gangway, and took him by the 
hand, but not a word was spoken. 


Harry Macy’s Promotion 


281 


“Where is my brother ?” was the first question Perry 
asked after looking over the men. 

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him.” They looked 
about the deck, and even under the wreckage. He was 
not among the dead, and Dr. Parsons knew he had not 
come to the ward room for treatment. At last they 
turned to the gangway, and met Harry Macy, carrying 
water to the wounded men below. 

“Your brother went to the cabin, Captain,” Harry 
said, raising his left hand in salute. And in the cabin 
they found the boy, lying on a hammock, fast asleep. 

“Mate, how many men can we muster for the rig- 
ging? We must clear up the vessel so that she can be 
towed back to harbor.” 

“Not many, Sir. Some of us, who are disabled, may 
pull on a rope, but we could not go aloft.” 

“Get around among the men, and report to Saling- 
master Taylor.” 

Harry went about this duty, and the men began to 
straighten up the ship until they were called to quar- 
ters by Lieutenant Yarnall to receive the English 
officers. Yarnall had now had his wounds properly 
dressed, and looked more like a trim naval officer. 
Captain Perry had worn a round naval jacket all day. 
He put on his fatigue uniform, and epaulettes, and took 
his station on the quarter deck. Here Lieutenant 
Yarnall brought the English officers. The first one 
was a captain of the Forty-first Regiment in full 


282 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


dress, deputized by Commodore Barclay to surrender 
his sword. After him came lieutenants and such com- 
manders as were able to come, although wounded. 
They presented their swords with the hilt to Captain 
Perry. He showed no exultation. His manner was 
quiet, dignified and solemn, as he said in a low tone, 

“Please retain your side arms. They have been 
bravely used by honorable men. Tell me, sir, how 
Commodore Barclay is,” he said turning to the captain. 
Then he offered every comfort his fleee would afford to 
the wounded English men, and regretted that he could 
not spare a surgeon to assist in caring for them. 

As it was impossible to keep the bodies of the dead 
sailors, they were now prepared for burial by being 
sewed up in canvas, with a thirty-two pound ball at the 
feet. They were gently laid on planks at the side of 
the ship. The chaplain read the burial service at sun- 
set, and then the bodies were slipped into the blue 
waters of the lake, which they had helped to retain in 
the possession of the United States. 

The combined fleet was riding at anchor not far from 
the scene of the battle, and as night settled down and 
the bright full moon shone peacefully over the water, 
officers and men lay down to sleep. Captain Perry 
sought his cot, but it was sometime before his mind 
could yield to quiet sleep. He was thankful for his 
success, and plans to follow it up would obtrude upon 
him. Then he could not shut away the sight of 


Harry Macy’s Promotion 


283 


Brooks’ bleeding form, and the mangled bodies of his 
men. He was thankful his own life was spared. He 
had said to Hambleton that evening, as they talked for 
a little while, 

“I believe the prayers of my wife have saved me.” 

So now we may believe, he did not close his eyes in 
sleep until he had lifted up his thankful heart to his 
Heavenly Father, in whom he trusted, with gratitude 
for his 'distinguishing favor that day. 

There was one unwounded man who had little rest 
that night. He was Dr. Usher Parsons, the patient, 
noble-hearted, humane surgeon. The fevered men 
were calling for water, and the groans of the sufferers 
were in his ears, and he rose a number of times to re- 
lieve them. At daylight he began his arduous task of 
amputations, and it took him all day, and before it was 
finished he was so exhausted he could hardly stoop 
over to dress the wounds. But such was the skill of 
this distinguished surgeon that only three of the 
ninety-six wounded men died after coming under his 
care. 

One of them was Midshipman Thomas Claxton, and 
another midshipman, Henry Laub, had been killed. 
The increased labor of repairing the ships, manning 
the enemy’s fleet, and guarding the prisoners, made it 
necessary to have more officers. Therefore Captain 
Perry detailed some of those who had been most effi- 


284 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


cient in the action, to act in these duties and recom- 
mended their promotion. 

One of those selected for promotion was Harry 
Macy. His faithful work in building the fleet had not 
been unnoticed. His commander had observed his 
vigilance and activity during the battle, and his pre- 
cision in firing the guns. And he was wounded in 
firing the last gun on the Lawrence. He was detailed 
as midshipman, and as his wounded arm, after being 
bound up, did not prevent his getting about, Captain 
Perry sent him over to take charge of fitting up the 
Hunter. 

At nine o’clock the next morning the signal was 
hoisted to weigh anchor. The vessels which could 
make sail got under way, and the stronger ones towed 
those that were helpless. At twelve o’clock they 
dropped anchor again in the harbor at Put-in- 
Bay. Captain Perry had now removed his flag 
to the Ariel, which was not much injured and was 
a fast sailor. After bringing the Hunter into harbor, 
Harry had been ordered to join the commander on the 
Ariel. 

In the afternoon Captain Perry said, 

“Mr. Macy, you may order a boat, and go with me to 
the Detroit.” 

But the commander first paid a visit to the Law- 
rence, and after cheering up the wounded men, and 
talking with Dr. Parsons, he ordered some of the ma- 


Harry Macy’s Promotion 


285 


rines to be detailed as nurses to assist him, for he was 
nearly exhausted. He examined the ship and gave 
some directions about its repairs, and then went over 
to the Detroit. He was received by the marine cap- 
tain, and introduced to Commodore Barclay, and each 
officer recognized in the other the nobility of character 
which animated them. 

Commodore Robert H. Barclay was an older officer 
than Perry, and had won distinction at Trafalgar, 
where he had lost an arm. Perry felt a good deal of 
sympathy for him in his suffering, and offered to do 
all in his power to relieve him. He said he would 
endeavor to procure his parole, so that he might return 
to England, and would ask it as a personal favor. 
Harry was introduced to the commodore and to the 
other officers. One of the midshipmen was a genial 
young fellow, and took Harry off to see the interior 
of the ship. When Perry came out of the cabin, the 
midshipman asked Lieutenant Inglis. 

“What has become of our Indians ?” 

“Did you have Indians aboard?” Perry asked. 

“Two chiefs who were sure shots. They were in 
the top when the battle opened.” 

“Let the ship be searched for them,” Perry ordered. 
After sime time spent in examining the condition of 
the ship Perry was about to leave, when the marines 
brought two strange looking men from the hold. They 
were very uneasy, when they saw that the English 


286 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


were prisoners under guard of the Blue Coats, and the 
vessel broken and wrecked. Captain Perry smiled, 
and told an interpreter to assure them they would be 
well treated. He asked them how they liked fighting 
on ships. One of them shook his head. 

“No more come with one-armed captain in big canoe. 
Shoot big gun too much. Gemokomon (American) 
much big fight.” 

“They look half-starved,” said Harry. 

“Lieutenant, give them a good meal. Tell them 
their scalps are safe,” Perry said turning to the gang- 
way. A few days later they were released, and the 
story they told frightened the Canada Indians so much, 
that no more of them joined Tecumtha’s bands of 
warriors. 

Now this exciting week came to a close and every 
one welcomed the rest of the Sabbath. On the 12th 
of September, which was Sunday, nothing was done, 
but to bury the dead officers and to care for the 
wounded. 

There were three American and three English of- 
ficers killed. The bodies were lowered into boats at 
ten o’clock, with the colors at half mast. The oars 
dipped in harmony with the slow funeral dirge. The 
bodies were carried to a grove on the shore of Put-in- 
Bay, and after the burial service had been read by 
Chaplain Breeze, they were laid away in that quiet and 
beautiful spot. Harry stood by his commander’s side, 


Harry Macy’s Promotion 


287 


and he did not soon forget the impression made by this 
solemn service, so far away from the homes of the 
dead. 

The weather changed Sunday evening and there was 
a heavy gale which tried severely the disabled vessels. 
They were carefully braced up, but the wounded masts 
of the Detroit came down with a crash. In the midst 
of the cold rain Monday morning the Ohio sailed into 
the harbor. Captain Dobbins had heard the firing, and 
the minute guns on Sunday. The cannonading had 
been heard at Cleveland and even at Erie, and the news 
of the battle was waited with the greatest anxiety. 

Captain Dobbins cautiously approached the harbor, 
until he could see the Union-jack at the masthead of 
the Niagara, then he came in on the wind. Soon 
after he dropped anchor Harry saw a boat from the 
Caledonia pass to the Ohio, and in a few moments, Mr. 
Chase returned towards the Ariel. He brought letters 
and despatches to the commander, and a welcome let- 
ter for Harry, which Ruth had enclosed in one to her 
father. The noble young woman, full of anxiety for her 
lover on the eve of battle, gave free expression to her 
love. It seemed to Harry as if she feared he might be 
desperately wounded, and she wanted to send him all 
the comfort and encouragement that she could. So 
she revealed, more fully than she would have done un- 
der ordinary circumstances, the depth of her love. 

The storm, however, had given Harry much to do, 


288 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


and he could not read his letter just then, but he talked 
a few minutes with Mr. Chase. He was glad to know 
he had escaped injury in the battle, and Mr. Chase con- 
gratulated Harry on his promotion and asked about his 
arm. 

“Well, Harry, Captain Elliott has got himself into a 
bad mess by his singular actions. What do you think 
of it?” 

“I would rather not talk of it. Captain Perry cau- 
tioned us this morning not to talk about Captain 
Elliott.” 

“Then he must have heard what is being said in the 
fleet and in the army.” 

“Have they heard about it in the army?” 

“Yes, some of the marines carried the story over. 
But if Captain Perry has shown such a magnanimous 
spirit as to overlook Captain Elliott’s misconduct, I 
will not say anything more about the matter. You 
stick to Captain Perry, Harry. He’s a man without 
many faults, and the most brilliant, ready, and re- 
sourceful officer I ever knew. He will gain high pro- 
motion now.” 

“I would like to follow him when he gets a good 
command, as he certainly will.” 

“Look at the Queen, Harry!” 

The two men ran to the side of the Ariel and 
anxiously watched the Queen Charlotte. The wind 
was still blowing violently, and the main and missen 


Harry Macy’s Promotion 


289 


masts were swaying dangerously, and as they looked 
at them, a fresh blast carried them over the side of the 
brig. 

“I suppose I fired the shot that broke that main- 
mast. It was just as Tom Starbuck was killed.” 

“Is it so? But if they are so weak, they are better 
down than up in this storm. It’s going to blow 
heavier, and I must get back to my little brig.” 

Just then Mr. Hambleton came up from below and 
looked at the Queen. Then seeing Mr. Chase he asked 
him if there was much talk in the fleet about Captain 
Elliott. 

“Yes all through the fleet and in the army also, 
there is much unfavorable reflection upon his conduct.” 

“This distresses Captain Perry very much, and he 
desires it shall cease. He said to me this morning, 

“ ‘The American flag has gained honor enough on 
the 10th, to permit all who served to share it. Let us 
give the best construction to Captain Elliott’s actions 
and let the matter drop.’ ” 

“I will do as the commander wishes. But I fear the 
matter will not drop, for the rumors of the Niagara’s 
delay in supporting the Lawrence have spread through 
the army also.” 

Mr. Hambleton repeated this to the commander, who 
took what measures he could to put a better construc- 
tion on Captain Elliott’s actions. On the 15th and 16th 
of September the prisoners, who were not sick or 


290 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


wounded, were sent over to General Harrison’s camp 
under charge of Lieutenant Turner. There were 
three hundred and eight of them. A few days later 
they marched under guard to Columbus, and thence to 
Chillicothe, then the capital of the state. Here they 
remained for more than a year, in Camp Hull, a mile 
north of the town. 

Lieutenant Turner met a good many officers of the 
army, and told them of the battle. He carried them 
Captain Perry’s request to stop talking about Captain 
Elliott, and he gave them the explanation which Cap- 
tain Elliott offered ; that his place in the line was a half 
cable’s length from his own brig, and was delayed by 
that. But when Lieutenant Turner had told of the 
part his vessel took in the fight there could be little 
doubt that Elliott’s explanation failed to be adequate. 

All the wounded British were now confined on the 
Detroit and Queen Charlotte, which after examination 
proved to be so much cut up that they required exten- 
sive repairs. They remained in Put-in-Bay all the 
winter. Perry had the Lawrence put in a sea- 
worthy condition. Then the wounded of the Ameri- 
cans were placed on board, and on September 21st she 
sailed for Erie. On the 23rd she entered Misery Bay, 
and received such a reception, as these wounded heroes 
and the battered ship deserved from a grateful people. 

Captain Perry had written his official report to the 
Secretary of the Navy. He felt a real regret that any 


Harry Macy’s Promotion 


291 


ill-repute had fallen upon Captain Elliott, and made 
the most favorable report of his conduct that he could 
honestly make. And there the matter would have 
rested with Perry if Elliott had let it alone, and there 
we may be content to leave it now. 

This report he entrusted to Lieutenant Delaney For- 
rest to carry to Washington, where his home was. He 
rode on horseback from Ohio to the Capitol, and every- 
where he saw and heard the rejoicing of the American 
people over the magnificent victory which Perry had 
won. 

The report had one item which concerns the interest 
of the young hero of our tale. Among those whose 
conduct was favorably mentioned, and whose promo- 
tion was asked for, was Harry Macy’s name, and his 
appointment as midshipman was recommended. This 
was, of course, immediately granted, and in due time a 
commission was forwarded which reached Harry Macy 
at Detroit. 

Lieutenant Forrest also carried to Washington the 
captured English flags, and the blue battle-flag of 
Perry’s flagship. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall. 

When Captain Perry went down to General Harri- 
son’s camp Harry was much impressed with the size 
and composition of his army. There were the regulars 
of the United States army, and General McArthur’s 
Ohio Militia, and a large body of four thousand Ken- 
tuckians under General Isaac Shelby, the hero of King’s 
Mountain and a veteran of three wars. More than twice 
the number called for had volunteered for this cam- 
paign, and had rendezvoused at Urbana, in Central 
Ohio, where they were organized into eleven regiments 
and five brigades, and two divisions. Harry’s naval 
uniform and his arm in a sling gave him recognition 
everywhere, among the hearty young bucks from the 
Blue Grass. Such enthusiasm and good fellowship 
Harry had never seen. They felt the disgrace of Hull’s 
surrender, and were determined to wipe it out, and to 
avenge their own neighbors, who had been massacred 
at Fort Miami and the Raisin. 

“Remember the river Raisin,” was the cry he heard 
many times. Those young fellows had the greatest 
confidence in their governor, “old King’s Mountain/' 
as they called him. Many of them were young men 
292 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 


293 


of fine talents, afterwards famous in Congress, and 
in the development of Kentucky. 

Perry had put all the vessels in good repair. The 
Lawrence sailed to Erie, and the Detroit and Queen 
Charlotte were left at Put-in-Bay, with the wounded 
prisoners under a strong guard. The rest of the 
fleet came down to the Portage river, and the em- 
barkation began September 21st. In three days five 
thousand men were landed on Middle Bass Island. 
Colonel R. M. Johnson’s mounted regiment marched 
overland. In one day the army was again carried over 
to Middle Sister Island, which was twelve miles from 
the mouth of Detroit river. The vessels were all 
crowded to the limit by the men. 

General Harrison and his staff made their head- 
quarters with Captain Perry on the Ariel. There 
was a company of Virginians in Harrison’s army, 
which had been with him for a year, and were 
now reduced to about thirty men. They were on the 
Ariel. 

Among them was one young fellow from a home 
of ease and refinement, who was just recovering from 
a siege of sickness, and had asked to be allowed to 
go with his company. In the evening he came to 
Major Chambers, of Harrison’s staff, who was sitting 
near Perry and Harrison, and asked if it would be pos- 
sible to get a cup of coffee, for the coarse rations made 
him sick. Major Chambers did not feel well enough 


294 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


acquainted with Captain Perry to speak to him about 
it, but mentioned the request to Lieutenant Packett, 
the commander of the Ariel. 

But Perry had heard the request, and knew how gal- 
lant had been the service of the company. He beck- 
oned to Harry and said, 

“Tell the steward, it is my wish that he should pre- 
pare supper for that Virginia company in the cabin.” 
Half an hour later the Petersburg company were 
seated at the supper table in the cabin. This little act 
of kindness made a deep impression on Major Cham- 
bers, but afterwards he discovered that it was char- 
acteristic of Captain Perry. For he was one whose 
humane instincts were not deadened but made more 
active by the sufferings entailed by war. 

Bayard Taylor’s words are true of Perry, 

“The bravest are the tenderest, 

The loving are the daring.” 

Hartley’s Point, just below Malden, was selected for 
the landing place, and General Harrison, with Perry’s 
assistance, drew up the orders for the final embarka- 
tion of the army, and its landing at Hartley’s Point. 
Harrison’s simplicity and rugged grandeur of charac- 
ter made a deep impression on Harry Macy. He saw 
how carefully every detail of this forward movement 
was arranged, so that there would be no surprise or 
rout, if resistance should be made at the debarkation. 
Harry felt that he was taking part in an important 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 


295 


operation, by which the war in the West would be 
terminated, and the authority of the United States gov- 
ernment would be re-established in her territory there. 

At three o'clock on the morning of the 27th Harry 
was just finishing his breakfast in the Ariel. In a few 
moments he was at his post of duty, bringing up his 
detail of boats, and seeing that they were not over- 
loaded. Then they rowed off to their position and 
waited, — such a long wait for hours. At last, at nine 
o’clock, the last company was on board, the last piece 
of baggage loaded in the schooners, and in orderly 
array, each regiment in its proper place, the boats 
moved onward. At three o’clock the debarkation be- 
gan at Hartley’s Point, and at five o’clock the army en- 
tered Malden, and extinguished the fires in the navy 
yard and store houses. 

Proctor left a guard, but he did not wait for Harri- 
son. His scouts reported to him that there were ten 
thousand Kentuckians on the islands, burning to 
avenge his cruelty to their fellow citizens. Cowardice 
is often an accompaniment of cruelty, and it was in 
Proctor’s character. Tecumtha was brave and hu- 
mane. He reproached Proctor for his pusillanimity, 
and urged him to make a stand and fight. Tecumtha 
was one of the first great men, born on the soil of Ohio. 
His ability shown in his great scheme for an Indian 
Confederacy, and in his eloquence as a speaker, and in 
his able generalship in war, was equally shown by his 


296 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


humanity towards his captives in battle. Proctor, 
reared in a Christian land, had looked on while his In- 
dian allies tortured and scalped the prisoners: Tecum- 
tha, with only the light of nature for his guide, rushed 
upon the lifted tomahawks, and sternly ordered the 
massacre to stop. 

Captain Perry brought up his fleet to Detroit. The 
citizens raised the American flag, General McArthur 
garrisoned the fort, and Colonel Johnson’s mounted 
men were ferried over the river. Then on October 
1st General Harrison’s forward movement began in 
pursuit of Proctor and Tecumtha, with their combined 
army. The small vessels of the fleet sailed up the 
Thames river. These were the Scorpion, Tigress and 
Trippe, and they convoyed the boats which carried 
the baggage of the army. 

Captain Perry wanted to see the end of the opera- 
tions, and volunteered as an aid on Harrison’s staff. 
Harry had followed Perry on the Scorpion, and he, too, 
sought a place, and General Shelby with good-humor- 
ed tolerance took the sailor-lad on his staff. Harry 
went off to a farm house to get a horse. It seemed 
deserted, but as there was a pony and a cow, he 
thought some one must be near. Standing by the house 
he heard a baby cry, and after much shouting induced 
the woman to come out of her hiding place. He assured 
her she need not fear the terrible Kentuckians, and 
bought her pony for ten dollars. When he got back 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 


297 


to headquarters he found Captain Perry mounted on 
a spirited horse, and managing it in a way that excited 
the admiration of the Western men. 

There were many exciting incidents in the forward 
march, for bands of Indians were skulking in the 
bushes, and attacked the outposts. Captain Perry had 
a narrow escape from such an attack. He was with 
Major Chambers in the van guard, and discovered an 
Indian crouching in the grass, and called to warn 
Chambers, but did not realize his own danger. Big 
Anderson, a friendly Shawano chief, who was with the 
army, had seen the Indians, and dropped behind a 
bank to get a shot at them. When he saw that Perry 
was not getting under cover, he waved his arm at 
him and called out, 

“Go way, fool. He shoot.” 

On October 5th Harrison was nearing Proctor’s 
army, which was on the right bank. Harrison de- 
cided to cross at the rapids above Chatham. The river 
was fordable for horses, but too deep for the infantry. 
To collect boats would take too much time, and Har- 
rison ordered the mounted men to carry over the in- 
fantry. Colonel Johnson’s men made some objections, 
and there was some delay. Perry saw the trouble, 
and, riding up to one of Shelby’s men, said, 

“Get up behind me, man. I’ll put you across.” 
Harry Macy picked out one of the smaller men, and 
followed Perry with his pony. Major Chambers did 


298 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


the same, and Johnson's men with a cheer took up the 
infantry, and carried them over, and came back for 
others until the last man was in ranks on the right 
bank, and then the army pushed forward rapidly on 
Proctor’s track. 

Proctor was forced by Tecumtha to make a stand 
and fight. He chose a splendid position between the 
high bank of the river and a swamp, where there was 
but a narrow strip of land by which Harrison’s army 
could advance for the attack, and in the center of this 
was a small swamp. There was only about two hun- 
dred yards of firm ground on each side. 

Proctor drew up his regulars of seventeen hundred 
men, supported by six pieces of artillery, across this 
narrow passage, and Tecumtha posted his one thou- 
sand Indians in the woods of the swamp. Many of the 
Indians had deserted, and come to Harrison, proposing 
peace. He said he had no time to parley, and advised 
them to keep out of the way of his army. Harrison 
had now about three thousand men but, owing to the 
narrow space for attack, not more than half of them 
were in the battle. 

When Harrison came up he saw that the British reg- 
ulars were drawn up in open order. He ordered Col- 
onel Johnson to charge with his mounted men. The 
British regiment was the Forty-first regulars, one of 
the best in the English army, but the first line was 
broken and scattered by the charge, when Johnson’s 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 


299 


men with loud cheers rode down upon them. The sec- 
ond line attempted to check the charge, but it also was 
broken up, when Johnson's men fired right and left, 
and dashing through the line, wheeled upon the rear of 
the column. The British threw down their guns and 
surrendered, and in five minutes after the charge began 
the whole regiment of nearly eight hundred men were 
captured, except one company of fifty men who es- 
caped. 

General Proctor fled in his carriage at the first of the 
charge, and Major Payne followed in hot pursuit. 
Proctor jumped out of his carriage, and got into a foot 
path in the woods, and, after getting away from the 
chase, fled so rapidly that before the next night he was 
sixty-five miles from the battle ground. 

Colonel Johnson had divided his regiment, giving 
Major Payne command of the right wing, while he 
held the left wing between the small swamp and the 
ground where the Indians were posted. Tecumtha 
ordered his Indians to hold their fire until the Ameri- 
cans were in front of them. It was a deadly volley, 
wounding many, and killing a number of the troop. 
Colonel Johnson was himself severely wounded, but 
kept his saddle, and ordered his men to dismount and 
tree. Hand-to-hand fights followed, while the woods 
resounded with the cry. 

“Remember the river Raisin.” 

General Shelby sent an aid to Colonel Donaldson 


300 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


with an order to advance with his regiment. Then he 
sent General King word to follow with his brigade. 
But King’s men were not needed, and only a part of 
Donaldson’s men got into the fight. The Indians saw 
they were over-matched by those fierce fighters from 
Kentucky, and that Proctor’s men were in flight, and, 
worst of all, they had lost their leader. They began to 
scatter, and it took smart runners to keep pace with 
them. 

It was in the first charge that the two brave leaders, 
Tecumtha and Colonel Johnson met face to face. The 
Indian wore in his belt two pistols of American make, 
more than a foot long. 

Colonel Johnson rode a white pony, his own horse 
having been injured just before the battle. He rode 
at the head of his troops, cheering them on, and calling 
to them to follow him to victory. The white pony and 
his hardihood made him a conspicuous mark for the 
Indians, and a shower of bullets flew around him, and 
wounded him in the hip. Harry Macy brought a mes- 
sage to him from General Shelby, when the bugle 
sounded the charge, and was caught in the rush. His 
pony was nervous and would have bolted, but Harry 
held her with a firm hand, and followed Colonel John- 
son. One of the bullets, intended for Johnson, passed 
through Harry’s hat, and another plowed a furrough 
in his pony’s shoulder. He saw Tecumtha raise his 
pistol and fire at the Colonel, the ball striking his hand 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 


301 


and passing up his arm. Tecumtha sprang forward, 
his tomahawk raised, but Johnson with a great effort, 
drew his own pistol, and shot the Indian leader through 
the head. 

Dr. Theobald rode up and Johnson said to him, 

“I am severely wounded. Where can I find a sur- 
geon ?” 

“Follow me,” Dr. Theobald answered. 

“Help us, Macy. On the other side.” Johnson sat 
up in his saddle until they came to the surgeon on 
Shelby's staff. Harry helped lift him from the sad- 
dle, and the white pony dropped dead, having been hit 
seven times in the battle. 

In the confusion of the melee some watchful Indians, 
at the hazard of their own lives, snatched up the body 
of their great leader and carried it away. The body 
which was found after the battle, and supposed to be 
Tecumtha’s, was not identified as his. The Indians 
never revealed the grave in which their leader was 
buried. So perished one of the greatest Indians whom 
the Americans ever encountered, who, if born at an 
earlier period, might have happily succeded in uniting 
the Indian tribes of the West into one great nation, 
with which the United States might have arranged a 
definite policy of peace. 

The action was so short that the losses were not 
heavy. Fifteen Americans were killed, and thirty 
wounded. The British lost eighteen killed, twenty- 


302 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


six wounded, and six hundred and forty-three cap- 
tured, including twenty-five officers. Thirty-three 
dead Indians were found. The Indian Confederacy 
was completely destroyed, and British prestige with 
the Indians forever lost. Great interest was taken in 
the captured cannon. Three of them had been taken 
at Saratoga and Yorktown, and were surrendered by 
Hull at Detroit. 

Harry Macy went back to Detroit with Captain 
Perry, and there he was made happy by receiving a 
long letter from Ruth Chase, but underneath its out- 
pouring of her joy and pride in her sailor lover, was 
her anxiety about his wounded arm. He sat down 
and wrote her a long account of his service with the 
army, and told her he no longer carried his arm in a 
sling. 

They had a chance to read the newspapers of New 
York and Philadelphia, and other cities, and to learn 
how highly their countrymen regarded the great vic- 
tory on Lake Erie. Its importance was universally 
recognized, and joyous celebrations were taking place 
in every part of the country. One cause of this great 
outburst of joy must be traced to the actual weakness 
of the American navy, as compared with the powerful 
fleets of England, which gave her a greater naval su- 
premacy then than she now has. 

But the little American navy had shown its superior- 
ity, ship for ship, in seamanship and in naval battles. 


Harry Sees Tecumtha Fall 


303 


Now, for the first time in history an English fleet, well 
armed and manned, and commanded by a veteran 
officer, had been defeated and forced to surrender. 
The reading of the lesson was plain; if the United 
States would build and equip a few more large vessels 
she could compel the haughty Britons to respect the 
rights of American ships and sailors in the commerce 
of the world. 

But while Perry’s achievements in building and 
equipping the fleet, under such great difficulties, was 
recognized, and his valiant fight on the Lawrence fully 
appreciated, yet the popular fancy seized upon his 
daring transfer of his flag to the Niagara, and by that 
maneuver winning a victory in the face of defeat, as 
the most original and brilliant feat in American naval 
warfare. And such it has always been regarded from 
that day to these later times of large and important 
naval achievements. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 
I Was There. 


Harry Macy was not too absorbed in his own happi- 
ness to forget his commander. He rejoiced in the 
distinction he received, and the promotion which came 
to Captain Perry. Harry was permitted to read a very 
congratulatory letter from Secretary Jones, and a few 
days later one from President Madison, promoting 
Perry to be post-captain, and giving him leave of 
absence to visit his family, if the service on the lake 
did not require him to remain. 

There was one of his home letters, which Perry 
also allowed Harry to read, which showed the true 
spirit of his family life. It told of the last sickness of 
his grandfather, Freeman Perry. He seemed to linger, 
waiting to hear of the result of the impending battle. 
Then came the despatch to Secretary Jones, which was 
published in the papers. As they read it to the dying 
patriot, his mind seemed to dwell on that opening 
sentence, which expressed so well the feeling of de- 
pendence on a Higher Power, which pervaded the 
whole nation at that day. He repeated over and over 
again, 

“It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of 
the United States a signal victory.” 

304 


I Was There 


305 


The modesty and reverent faith of this beautiful 
despatch was most gratifying to the Christian patriot, 
as he waited for death. 

In a few days General Harrison received orders to 
take a large part of his army to Fort George. When 
the orders were given for the embarkation of his men, 
he went on board the Ariel with Captain Perry, and 
sailed for Buffalo. On the way they stopped at Put- 
in-Bay, and Perry informed Barclay that the request 
for his parole was granted, and invited him to go with 
him on the Ariel on his way home. Harry’s duties 
brought him daily among these distinguished officers, 
and he was called on to help Commodore Barclay, who 
had lost one arm at Trafalgar, and was disabled in 
the other in the recent battle. He proved to be a very 
pleasant and gentlemanly man, who fully appreciated 
Captain Perry’s ability, and his unexpected kindness 
to himself. Out of this intercourse of the two officers 
grew up a strong friendship, founded on mutual re- 
spect. Barclay spoke of it frequently to Harry. 

“Midshipman, your commander’s treatment of me is 
noble and very unusual. It is only equalled by his 
bravery and intrepidity in the action. Since the bat- 
tle he has been like a brother to me.” 

At another time he said, 

" “His humanity to his prisoners would alone have 
immortalized him.” 

The influence of Captain Perry had a powerful effect 


306 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


in modifying the animosity between the English and 
Americans. The chivalrous treatment of the enemy, 
and the humanity shown toward the seamen, who be- 
came their prisoners, by Captain Perry, Commodore 
Decatur, Captain Hull, and other victorious American 
naval officers evoked that true nobility of feeling, 
which underlies the English character. England 
learned two great lessons in this war. The first was 
that she could not conquer the Americans on the sea 
or on the land. And the second was a lesson of for- 
bearance. Out of the war grew a higher respect for 
American prowess in naval conflicts, and for Ameri- 
can valor on the field. Afterwards came a realizing 
sense of the true brotherhood of the Anglo-Saxon race. 
Then came the recognition of common ideals and aims, 
and the benefit of peace in accomplishing common 
purposes, until the two great nations were knit to- 
gether in the bonds of a lasting friendship. 

On the 22nd of October the Ariel sailed into Presque 
Isle Bay, while the Battery fired a salute which called 
the population far and near to the village. Harry as- 
sisted Commodore Barclay to land at the foot of Peach 
Street, and with Perry on one side and Harry on the 
other, he was helped up the steep hill to Duncan’s 
tavern. Every hour the crowds increased, and the 
joyous excitement grew more intense, as the rest 
of the fleet came sailing in. The people of Erie 


I Was There 


307 


rejoiced in it as their fleet, and they determined to 
have a great celebration. 

But Harry did not care to stay for the parade and 
illumination that night. As soon as he had brought 
their guest to the hotel, he went off to the edge of the 
crowd, where he had seen Ruth Chase, waving her 
white handkerchief to him, as he came up the hill. 
He had only a few words of greeting, when a group 
of young people closed around them, and all began 
talking at once. 

“Harry, be careful of your arm/’ Ruth admonished 
him. 

“My arm is as good as ever now, thanks to Dr. 
Parson's skill. I must go back to the hotel, for Captain 
Perry may need me. I will get off as soon as possible. 
Where will I find you, Ruth?” 

“If you don't see me on the street, come to Sally 
Taylor's.” 

A half an hour later Harry was excused by the 
commander, and he soon found Ruth. Mrs. Taylor 
and Sally went to the kitchen, and at last Ruth and 
Harry were left to themselves for a little while. But 
we will not intrude on those happy moments, when 
love and gratitude found expression. 

When Mr. Chase arrived from the Caledonia they 
all went home for the evening, and it was midnight 
when Harry came back again to the village, which 
was still ablaze with light and full of noise. 


308 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


Harry went on with the Ariel to Buffalo, where 
Captain Perry took leave of his officers and men and 
started home. Before saying good-by to Harry he 
had a little talk with him about the future. He knew 
that he would before long be given command of a 
good ship, and he told Harry he wanted him on his 
ship, and if he desired to serve under him, he would 
ask that Harry should be transferred to his ship. 
Harry joyfully and thankfully accepted this kind offer. 

In a short time a board of officers adjudged the 
captured vessels to be worth two hundred and fifty- 
five thousand dollars, and this prize money was dis- 
tributed among the officers and men of the fleet, 
according to the rules of the department. Commodore 
Chauncey received twelve thousand seven hundred 
and fifty dollars. Captain Perry and Captain Elliott, 
being of equal rank, each received seven thousand one 
hundred and forty dollars. To remedy this injustice, 
Congress made a special appropriation of five thousand 
dollars to Captain Perry. Lieutenants and other offi- 
cers received two thousand two hundred and ninety- 
five dollars. Mr. Chase as sailing-master drew an 
order for this amount. Midshipmen had eight 
hundred and eleven dollars. Mates and petty officers 
four hundred and forty-seven dollars, and each seaman 
and marine two hundred dollars. 

Harry remained on duty in the fleet all that winter. 
At Mr. Chase’s suggestion he examined the land about 


I Was There 


309 


Erie, and with his prize money, and what he had 
saved from his wages, he bought a fine tract of land. 
The next year he joined Captain Perry at Newport, 
and followed him to the Java, and sailed with him to 
the Mediterranean. But after three years he resigned 
from the navy, and went to Erie and built a cabin on 
his land. Here he and Ruth established their happy 
home. But when Captain Chase wanted to build a 
schooner, Harry joined him in the venture, and went 
as mate, and they both acquired wealth from the 
lake commerce, as the population rapidly increased 
in the cities on the shores of the great lakes. 

As the years went by the popular appreciation of 
the great victory on Lake Erie did not diminish. The 
people justly looked upon it as the great event, which 
settled forever the boundaries of the western domain, 
and had established a permanent peace between the 
neighboring nations. Year after year the glorious 
event was celebrated, and the men who fought under 
Perry were esteemed as worthy of remembrance and 
honor. It was with pleasure and pride that Harry 
could reply to questions about the battle by saying, 
“I was there.” And with still more delight when his 
commander was spoken of he would say, “I knew 
Perry.” 

The animosity between the people of the United 
States and their neighbors, on the north shore of the 
lakes, soon died away; and the two great people of 


310 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


kindred blood began harmoniously to develop the 
resources of the imperial domains which each of them 
possessed. 


NOTES AND HISTORICAL GLEANINGS 


It has been the intention of the writer of this story 
to show the intolerable conditions, which forced the 
people of the United States to declare war on England 
in 1812 ; to give a reliable account of the building of the 
fleet on Lake Erie, a task of which few persons know 
the time and place or its extreme difficulties; and to 
describe accurately the important and striking features 
of the battle. 

The writer has gone to the original sources and the 
most trustworthy authorities for his information, and 
has given a wide and careful reading to all the litera- 
ture on this subject. Dobbins’ Battle of Lake Erie, 
which is an account by one of the main builders of the 
fleet; McKenzie’s Life of Perry, drawn from his own 
letters and papers, and from official reports ; Lossing’s 
Field Book of the War of 1812; Sanford’s History 
of Erie County, Pennsylvania ; Maclay’s History of the 
United States Navy; McMaster’s and many other 
histories of the United States, are some of the works 
studied and consulted by the author. 

Where discrepancies of dates or details were found, 
preference was given to Dobbins’ and McKenzie’s 
statements and to the accounts of survivors collected 
by Lossing; but as the recollections of old men, years 
311 


312 


Don't Give Up the Ship 


j 

after the event, are often vague and contradictory to 
official accounts they were carefully collated. 

Some of the necessary books and articles, with other 
important matter not in reach of the writer, were 
secured from friends and kind-hearted strangers. The 
author acknowledges with gratitude their generous aid. 

The exciting scenes of the first and second chapters 
did not occur in Nantucket Bay. They were suggested 
by a similar event which took place in 1807 in Passama- 
quoddy Bay. 

No doubt some young readers will desire to learn 
something more about Alexander Perry, who was a 
picturesque if not a very important actor in the battle. 
He did his duty and contributed his share to the 
glorious success, as did many heroes “to fame 
unknown." A brief account of his short life is given 
by McKenzie. He remained in the naval service and 
rose to be a lieutenant. When he was about twenty 
years old he lost his life in the harbor of Valpraizo, 
in attempting to save a sailor from drowning who did 
not know how to swim. 

The beautiful and prophetic tribute written by 
Washington Irving a few months after the battle, 
gives an almost perfect description of the feeling of 
the American people of today with regard to Perry’s 
victory : 

“The last roar of the cannon that died along her 
shores was the expiring note of British domination. 


Notes and Historical Gleanings 


313 


In future times, when the shores of Erie shall hum 
with busy population; when towns and cities shall 
brighten where now extend the dark and tangled 
forests ; when ports shall spread their arms, and lofty 
barks shall ride where now the canoe is fastened to 
the stake; when the present age shall have grown 
into venerable antiquity, and the mists of fable begin 
to gather around its history, then will the inhabitants 
look back to this battle we record, as one of the roman- 
tic achievements of the days of yore. It will stand 
first on the page of their local legends, and in the 
marvelous tales of the borders/’ 

Necessarily, a story which professes to give the 
experiences of an actor in the scenes, must reflect 
the opinions of that time and not those of the 
present. The writer has endeavored to portray the 
times as they appeared to a fair-minded, reflective 
person, not as they would be seen by an extreme 
partisan. For this reason the strange conduct of 
Captain Elliott, in holding the Niagara aloof from the 
battle, could not be passed over. But this has been 
touched lightly, in the spirit shown by Commodore 
Perry, whose magnanimous over-looking of a serious 
fault prevented a talented young officer from being 
driven from the service. 

So also it is hoped that the recital of the wrongs 
and injustice which caused great suffering to the sea- 
men, merchants and people of the Eastern States, will 


314 


Don’t Give Up the Ship 


not excite antagonistic feelings at this day, so far 
distant from that period. After the Chesapeake, com- 
manded by Captain James Lawrence, was captured 
by the Shannon, it was taken as a prize to England. 
There it was broken up, and its timbers were bought 
by John Prior, a miller of Wickham, Hants, England, 
Those beams with the cannon balls still sticking in 
them are now a part of a mill, in which the peaceful 
work of making flour is daily carried on. This comes 
pretty close to the prophetic picture of Isaiah, when 
swords shall be beaten into plow shares and spears 
into pruning hooks, and the nations shall learn war 
no more ; which we all devoutly wish may be entirely 
fulfilled in the dawn of Universal peace. 

Charles S. Wood. 


Urbana, O., 1912. 


Tales of the Enchanted Isles of ths Atlantic 
By THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1.63 

Legends showing that the people of Europe were for centuries 
Yi, romances of marvelous and beautiful countries beyond 
the Atlantic. Besides the early Irish, Spanish, and other tradi- 
tirnis or the Happy Islands of the West, there come to us, among 
others from our own race, the old stories of King Arthur and his 
Avalon ; of St. Brandan’s Isle ; of the Voyages of Eric the Viking ; 
and of the vanishing Norumbega, so real a vision to the imagina- 
tions of Queen Elizabeth’s day. These legends are valuable both 
as history and literature. Many were unknown or forgotten until 
this collection was made, but new interest has been aroused in 
these mythical tales, which are the forerunners of much of the 
best in English literature. 

“A desirable and worthy counterpart of Hawthorne’s ‘Wonder 
Book.’ ” 

— Dial. 


De Soto and His Men in the Land of Florida 

By GRACE KING 

Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1.64 

The author of ‘‘New Orleans : The Place and the People” has 
collected into an entertaining volume, stories of the brilliant armada 
which sailed westward under De Soto in 1538 to subdue the 
natives and bring this country under the Spanish crown. Old 
Spanish and Portuguese narratives are the basis of its history. 
In following the fortunes of De Soto, Miss King has had a deeply 
interesting subject, and one that she has handled with great skill. 
Tradition and history are so closely allied that it is often difficult 
to follow the right course. The author gives us a narrative whose 
historical foundation need never be questioned, and whose inter- 
est never fails from the first to the last page. 


Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coast 

By FRANK R. STOCKTON 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1*64 

This book is an account — with efforts to sift falsifying legend and 
preserve the truth — of the offshoots of the early English, French, 
and Dutch combinations against Spanish exactions in West India 
waters. From the early buccaneer with a legitimate purpose came 
the pirate whose greed of booty was for private gain. Mr. Stockton 
has told wild stories of picturesque figures among both types of 
leaders, and his characteristic quaint turns of humor set them off 

en ‘ t ‘Tht I ta^fs y are told with dramatic vividness with Mr Stockton’s 
inevitable charm and picturesqueness, and with frequent flashes of 
his own inimitable humor .” — N exo York Times. 


Published by 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 

64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York. 


The Siege of Boston 

By ALLEN FRENCH 

Illustrated, Decorated Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1.64 

The Siege of Boston was the culmination of a series of events 
which will always be of importance in the history of America. 
On one side was the king with his privileges, backed by his 
parliamentary majority, and having at command an efficient army 
and navy, and a full treasury. And on the other side were the 
colonists, quite capable of fighting for what they knew to be the 
“right of Englishmen." Mr. French has admirably realized the dif- 
ference between the formal style of History and the story style. 
Mr. French makes us see vividly the sturdy men and women who 
figured in the events. His narrative is absolutely accurate as to 
faot, yet intensely Interesting and full of the real spirit of the age. 


Daniel Boone and The Wilderness Road 

By H. ADDINGTON BRUCE 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; postpaid $1.64 

The central figure in this book is, of course, Daniel Boone ; but 
the romance of the famous pioneer’s life has been identified by 
Mr. Bruce with the whole vast movement of which he was the 
type. The story of the great migration across the Alleghanies 
has not hitherto been adequately told ; and the bare facts of the 
blazing of the wilderness road convey little idea of the stirring 
interest that attaches to this almost involuntary movement of 
the growing people. 


The Story of the American Merchant Marine 

By JOHN R. SPEARS 

Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; postpaid $1.64 

Although to-day the American merchant shipping is confined 
almost entirely to a small coastwise trade, there is no chapter in 
our history of which we should be more justly proud than that 
which tells the story of our commercial supremacy on the high 
seas. In the annals of the sea, Mr. Spears is a recognized author- 
ity. Our shipping has long been his especial study, and there is 
no man better equipped to tell the splendid story of the rise and 
domination of the American merchant marine. 

Published by 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 

64-66 Fifth Avenue. New York. 


The Story of Old Fort Loudon 

By CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1.64 

A Tale of the Cherokees and the Pioneers of Tennessee, 1760, 
by the author of “The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains,” 
“In the Tennessee Mountains,” etc. 

“There is a fine literary flavor about this sweet breathed narra- 
tive of a historical tragedy It is a pure historic romance 

with the interest centering about a fine man — Captain John Stuart, 
the officer in charge of Fort Loudon.” — Chicago Tribune. 

“The pictures of pioneer life presented are striking and remain 
In the memory.” — Outlook. 

"The characters are so skilfully presented as to be thoroughly 
life-like, and great care has evidently been taken to make the 
story historically accurate.” — Cleveland Plain-Dealer. 


Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors 

By JAMES BARNES 

Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1.63 

Tales of 1812, by the author of “Drake and his Yeomen,” “For 
King and Country,” etc. Illustrated by R. F. Zogbaum and 
Carlbton T. Chapman. 

“Mr. Barnes’ style is admirable, and the stories he has taken 
from history and tradition are stirring narratives of valiant deeds.” 
— The Dial. 

“Good stories, well told. They deal with the gallant defenders 
of such vessels as the Chesapeake, the Wasp, the Vixen and grand 
Old Ironsides.” — New England Magazine. 


Southern Soldier Stories 

By GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail $1.63 

Contains forty-seven stories illustrating the heroism of those 
brave Americans who fought on the losing side in the Civil _War. 
Humor and pathos are found side by side in these pages, which 
bear evidence of absolute truth. 

“Faithfully told stories bearing evidence of absolute truth ... 
One’s pulses quicken as he becomes acquainted with the hero 
deed! of those brave Americans, who were on the losing side ; 
fichtine an impossible cause: a volume which every h°Y 
af wen as ev?ry San and woman in America may read with profit- 
able Interest”— St. Louis Qlobe-Democrat. „ 

•■Such capital reading that one cannot_ fail to enjoy tto 


Published by 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 

64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York, 


The Last American Frontier 
By FREDERICK LOGAN PAXON 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo. $L50 net; postpaid $1.62 

“The story of the United States is that of a series of frontiers 
which the hand of man has reclaimed from nature and the savage, 
and which courage and foresight gradually transformed from desert 
waste to viril commonwealth. The winning of the first frontier 
established America’s first white settlement ; later struggles added 
the frontiers of the Alleghanies and the Ohio, of the Mississippi 
and Missouri. The winning of the last frontier completed the 
conquest of the continent.” It is the story of this last frontier 
completed the conquest of the continent.” It is the story of this 
last frontier that Professor Paxson tells in this book. The Last 
American Frontier is a story of the West as it was, a story of 
the West from which has sprung our conception Of the traditional 
cowboy, of the Indians of the plains, the pony express, the rush 
. of the gold miners, all that is most wild and stirring in our 
history. 


The Story of the Great Lakes 

By EDWARD CHANNING and MARION F. LANSING 
Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; postpaid $1.63 

The authors have not attempted an exhaustive chronicle of the 
many events of which the inland seas and their shores have been 
the scene. Instead, by dwelling upon the individuals who made 
the history of the Great Lakes, upon the conditions of their lives 
and the romance of their adventures, Professor Channing and Miss 
Lansing have emphasized the dramatic features of the sudden 
transformation of a remote wilderness into the heart of a con- 
tinent’s commerce. Vivid pictures of the changing life along the 
shores of the Great Lakes of the long, ever-shifting, four-cornered 
struggle between Frenchmen, Englishmen, Americans and Indians 
for their possession, make an absorbing narrative. It is an excel- 
lent example of the school of history which deals with humanity 
and the human side of events, rather than theories, documents 
and dates. 

The Story of the New England Whalers 

By JOHN R. SPEARS 

Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; postpaid $1.64 

Some of the most romantic and adventurous characters in Ameri- 
can history are dealt with in this book, in which Mr. Spears 
tells the story of the American whaling industry. He has given 
us the life stories of the men who made New Bedford, Nantucket, 
and Marblehead — the men to whom more than to any others was 
due the upbuilding of the American merchant service in the early 
days of the Republic. 

“The author of this book has for many years been known as 
one of the best informed and most reliable writers on the various 
phases of sea life and enterprise.” — American Geographical Society. 

“Mr. Spears has allowed no important phase of the subject to 
escape him. ... It is well that the story of this important 
industry should be preserved, for the American whale-fishery will 
soon be a thing of the past.” 

— Review of Reviews. 

Published by 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 

64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York. 























































SEP 12 1912 










































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